At the 13th Paris Air Forum, organized by “La Tribune” on 12 June, over 2,000 people and around 100 speakers gathered to discuss the major geopolitical, technological and industrial challenges facing Europe.
Eric Béranger, CEO of MBDA, presented the Group’s vision to address new security challenges and support the increase in European defence capabilities during a roundtable entitled "Is Rebuilding Industrial Mass Truly Possible in Peacetime?".
Facing high-intensity conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, Eric Béranger noted that global strategic balances have profoundly evolved:
"The world has changed; it is indisputable. We are witnessing a return to brutal force. It is an increasingly unstable world. After 30 years of underinvestment in defence, European states are engaged in a massive rearmament wave."
In this context, MBDA has a clear objective: to provide its clients and partners with the necessary capabilities to meet today's and tomorrow's challenges. This ambition is based on two complementary axes: accelerating industrial ramp-up and developing a new "smart mass" capability.
A ramp-up to address strategic urgency
Since 2023, MBDA has undertaken a major transformation of its industrial infrastructure to support European rearmament efforts.
Between 2023 and 2025, MBDA succeeded in doubling the production of missiles. In 2026, the efforts continue with an objective of increasing production by 40% compared to 2025.
To sustain this long-term increase in production rates, MBDA has also doubled its investment plan, with 5 billion euros to be spent between 2026 and 2030.
This ambition is being brought to life by the creation of a new production site near Orléans, in addition to the existing capabilities in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Operational as of 2027, this site will support the acceleration of several strategic programmes.
Eric added:
"This project will enable MBDA to have a first operational industrial capacity as early as 2027. It constitutes a major lever to meet current and future production challenges. This new site will contribute to achieving our objective of multiplying missile production in France by six between 2023 and 2030."
Building the "smart mass" for tomorrow's conflicts
MBDA is preparing for the evolution of future operational needs through the development of a "smart mass" capability. This involves new cooperation between major defence industrials, civilian organisations, and innovative companies.
This approach allows MBDA to provide forces with high-value decision-making weapons, as well as new saturation effectors, complementary and capable of being produced and deployed on a large scale to address the entire spectrum of threats.
And, in fact, MBDA is working on adapting its product portfolio by developing new mass effectors. An example is the ONE WAY EFFECTOR, nicknamed the "French Shahed", a long-range munition intended to saturate enemy defences.
This approach is also illustrated by a new and unprecedented partnership between MBDA and Alta Ares, a French DefTech startup, within the framework of the Innovative Partnership ELISA launched by the DGA in April 2026. This cooperation associates the X-Lock and Blackbird interceptor drones, developed by Alta Ares, with MBDA's expertise in weapons systems.
The objective of this partnership is to provide French and European armed forces with a credible, rapid, and sovereign response to the drone threat, through mass, low-cost solutions.
Modular capabilities in times of crisis
Thus, MBDA is simultaneously strengthening two areas: the robustness of our industrial footprint and ability to ramp up through a resilient European value chain, and our ability to prepare for the future.
Eric commented:
"Our investments are not only focused on production but also on preparing for the future and anticipating the evolution of threats. One guiding principle: anticipate! And that is what we are doing."
We are adapting our product portfolio by introducing a modular, evolvable, and sovereign "smart mass" capacity, through a new form of cooperation with a dual ecosystem.
Thus, MBDA is preparing the transition from a peacetime regime to a crisis regime as a modular capability, allowing us to adapt to the evolution of threats and the needs of the forces.