Catherine Vautrin, French Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans, at the Matra Electronique © MBDA 2026  
 

For her first visit in 2026, Friday, January 9, MBDA and Matra Electronique had the honor of welcoming Catherine Vautrin, French Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans, at the Matra Electronique, Electronics Center of Excellence in France (in Venette, Hauts-de-France). She was accompanied by local elected Officials, the Vice-admiral Jacques Fayard, Chief of the military cabinet and members of her cabinet, and the General Engineer of Armaments Thierry Rouffet representing French Armament General Directorate (DGA).

Specialized in manufacturing high precision electronic components and a 100% subsidiary of MBDA, Matra Electronique (MEL) is a key player in the European Defense industry, serving the European war economy and rearmament in a tense geopolitical context, with repercussions on the local ecosystems.

© MBDA 2026  
 

Opened in 2024, MEL 4.0 production site represents a significant investment in the future of European Defense. The site employs more than 600 employees. With a planned hiring of 150 people in 2026-27, and an extension of the premises of 6,000m2, it includes Qualiopi training facilities and has already trained 900 trainees with 3 certified professional trainers. The production site is designed to improve working conditions, absorb higher volumes, produce more and faster, and standardize production processes, ensuring that MBDA can meet the growing demands of the Defense sector. The Minister and the Delegations were thus able to visit the automated production lines of electronic maps, the testing phases, and the modernized logistics platform with the Exotec robots.

MEL, the Center of Excellence for electronics production in Venette, is proof of the company's commitment - and by extension that of the MBDA group - to technological innovation and industrial sovereignty. Indeed, as everyone knows, "being sovereign means knowing and being able to choose freely one’s partners and dependencies, particularly in the field of the industrial value chain". 
This presentation was echoed by the Minister, who recalled the "strategic need to protect and develop our industrial and technological base" and the need for a 2026 budget that takes all its dimensions !

This ministerial visit, which kicks off 2026, comes at a time when the MBDA group is more mobilized than ever, adapting massively to the strengthening of the industrial capacities of European Defense. With 20,000 employees dedicated to daily innovation and increasing production rates, MBDA is at the forefront of Defense technology.

By investing in leading-edge technologies and sustainable practices, MBDA and MEL are leading the way in a dynamic and innovative Defense industry. This visit was an opportunity to highlight the involvement of MEL and MBDA and all employees, underlining the importance of these strategic investments and recalling that MBDA is "behind every safe place", a committed link in the chain of Defense of Europeans, alongside the armed forces, aiming to ensure defense and protect freedoms in Europe.