Aerospace & Defense Exporter Alert

Aerospace
Five aircraft manufacturers account for most of the French market: Airbus (large commercial aircraft and military aircraft), Airbus Helicopters (civil and military), Dassault Aviation (high-end business jets and the Rafale Figher jet), ATR (passenger and cargo turboprop aircraft for regional transport, an Airbus JV with Italian firm Leonardo), and Daher (TBM and Kodiak light aircraft and business turboprops). There is also a growing ecosystem of small manufacturers offering light electric or hybrid aircraft or vehicles suited for urban air mobility.  The Safran Group is also involved in both civil and military defense, manufacturing several military drones, as does Airbus Defence & Space and French electronics group Thales.

French manufacturers are working on a new generation of products aiming to be carbon-neutral by 2050.  To achieve this, the industry is focusing on increasing usage of 100% sustainable fuels, developing hydrogen powered aircraft and achieving a 30% improvement of energy efficiency across the aircraft (motors, wings, electrification and hybridization and green operations).  Best prospects will therefore be for any product or innovation helping manufacturers achieve these goals.

Defense
While France is not a geographically large country, it’s generally the world’s 3rd or 4th largest arms manufacturer and exporter after the US and Russia, and sometimes China.   France therefore considers the United States as its major competitor in defense sales.  France is one of the few countries in the world that maintains full-spectrum military production capabilities; as a nuclear nation, it makes its own equipment, from small tactical weapons all the way up to a nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and ballistic missiles.  France is a strong supporter of its own and the EU’s technology and industrial base, avoiding components in its defense supply chains which are subject to ITAR is a clear competitive advantage to French primes when exporting - and most defense equipment is built for export.  France does occasionally buy complete U.S. systems - for example General Atomics Reapers or Lockheed Martin C-130Js – when it has no local alternative to fill a capacity gap.  It will generally buy via a Foreign Military Sales process when this is the case.

The defense budget, which has been increasing, hovers around 50 billion euros – a tiny amount compared to that of the U.S. but the biggest in Europe.  The equipment acquisition share is about 25-30 percent of the budget. France spends about 2.7 percent of GDP on defense.

In order to successfully do business in the French defense sector, we advise firms to work with French or European partners; it’s smart to look as “local” as possible.  Having a French or European footprint, which may need to include locally manufactured content, is usually a must.

Space
France’s space sector continues to grow, with about 60 companies working exclusively in this sector. French trade association GIFAS reports consolidated sales for 2021 at about 4.5 billion euros, which is about half of the value of the entire European space industry.

France has been the driver in Europe for greater investment in the sector, and a staunch supporter of the Ariane 6 program as well as in in a European secured telecoms constellation.  France will be investing 9 billion euros over the next 3 years (France 2030 Program) in space research, support for the Ariane 6 launch program, industrial competitiveness, exploration and defense-related space.  According to President Macron, the catchword for the industry moving forward is “Sovereignty”, whether in terms of launchers (Ariane 6) or the secured connectivity constellation (Europe’s third, after Galileo and Copernicus). 

In addition to large well-known primes, France is developing an ecosystem of innovative young companies offering technologies and services relating to “New Space” and organizing into clusters throughout France.

Upcoming Events 
For companies seeking in-person opportunities to enter the French market, there are several upcoming events of interest:

SOFINS, Souge (Bordeaux area), France. March 28-30, 2023, SOFINS features Special Forces equipment.

JEC World, Villepinte (Paris area), France. April 25-27, 2023. The world’s leading international annual Composites show.  Aerospace applications are featured prominently at this event.

Paris Air Show, Le Bourget (Paris area), France. June 19-25, 2023. The Paris Air Show is the largest show of its kind and includes over 2,450 exhibitors from 49 countries. It is a biennial week-long event to demonstrate civilian and military aircraft to potential customers and investors, and to announce new developments and orders.

Eurosatory, Villepinte (Paris area), France. June 17-21, 2024. Eurosatory is the global land and air benchmark event for Defense and Security. Every two years the show brings together more than 100,000 professionals and 1,743 exhibitors from 62 countries.

Euronaval, Le Bourget (Paris area), France. October 2024. A biennial naval defense and maritime security event.

Aeromart, Toulouse, France. November 2024. Aeromart is a business-to-business supply chain event, featuring conferences and meetings with buyers from major aircraft manufacturers and their suppliers. 1500 companies and over 3000 participants attend Aeromart.

Meet Cara Boulesteix
Aerospace & Defense Commercial Specialist U.S. Embassy France