France followed an bold army programming regulation 2024-2030: 413 billion euros for modernization of armies. Specifically, the financing of its business and technological protection of the bottom accounts for 4,500 firms, together with 9 massive business teams similar to Thales or MBDA and lots of small and medium enterprises. Problem: To lead them to in combination within the common sense of “cooperation”, competitions in interference between relationships and cooperation. The actual Kopensnack revolution.
Confronted with Russian danger and American crowded, Europe is the final. On the finish of April 2025. 12 months, 16 Ecu Union international locations have asked that Brussels was once briefly unfastened from the principles that examine funds balance extra in protection. France didn’t categorical this pastime, however Emmanuel Macron was once in February 2025. He discussed the speculation of bringing French army spending with 2.1% to five% of GDP.
Whilst France is getting ready for this possible battle of prime intensities, the French executive places its business and technological protection of the bottom (BiTD) within the new common sense: it “cooperation”. This was once blended with cooperation and pageant between other actors who’ve been in cooperation with the Buyer Provider is an actual Coper Revolution.
What’s it for? Heterogeneous, French BiTD is in accordance with small or medium leading edge firms similar to deciphering or baumaging teams and big protection teams similar to Thales or MBDAs. Do they attach them underneath the prism of cooperation with the promise of agile, leading edge and sovereign protection business? And for which good fortune? That is the topic of a doctoral paintings that Chloe Zanardi and supervised Frederic Le Roi and Johann Gast.
Business and Technological Protection Database (BiTD)
French BiTD is in accordance with a structured ecosystem across the small collection of massive teams, Thales, Safran, MBDA, naval staff, Dassault Aviation, CEA, Ariane Workforce, Nekter, Ariane Workforce, Nekter, Arkuus; and an overly massive collection of SMEs. In 2019, from 26,452 direct distributors of the Ministry of Military, 84.5% have been SMEs and Central Corporations (ETI), in comparison to only one% of enormous teams.
Massive French defenses soak up the placement of elementary business projectors. They supply missions starting from analysis and building for gross sales of technological bricks, together with supply of protection apparatus and products and services. Given the rising wishes of the defense force with regards to innovation of ruptures, those massive teams have organized bold and mobilized methods for vital sources for analysis and building (analysis and building). In 2020. Thales employs 25,000 folks for analysis and building, together with maximum of France and three,000 folks for analysis and generation (R & T) of the whole operating power of 65,000 folks.
Infographic base of commercial and technological protection. Ministry of Military
As for small and medium enterprises, they’re not thought to be best like subcontractors. They supply their leading edge answers for undertaking managers, but additionally carry answers at once with the defense force themselves. EKOZES is growing amplification, detection and symbol applied sciences; MC2 applied sciences, hyperfrequency for safety and security packages; Akira Applied sciences, design and realization of the power conversion device and particular take a look at benches.
Innovative Emancipation of SMEs
French SMEs Protection has lengthy advanced in a vertical scheme of family members with the principle industries within the sector. The decline within the Berlin Wall, adopted by way of an especially aid of army budgets, emphasised the fragility of this type. In accordance with the decline in state orders to very large teams, many SMEs have changed into growing technological improvements for civil or double use.
Since 2000, those SMEs have taken the chance introduced by way of the beginning of barn applied sciences similar to robotics, massive information, synthetic intelligence or web gadgets. It’s supported by way of the advent of the Innovation Company in 2018. years, they might go back to the entrance of the degree, providing answers with a big added protection price, steadily of the information advanced within the civil sector. Corporations focusing on drone, similar to Delair or Novade, expand answers for the French military. Because of this, the standard subcontracting connection makes house for extra horizontal dynamics.
“Let’s not be afraid. Nor in our ideas or other. (…) You do not need to oppose small affairs for industrial agent,” resembles Florence France since 2017. till 2022. years, in speech 22. November 2018.
Cooperation, the 3rd promising strategic street
Confronted with the quandary between cooperation or pageant, a hybrid technique seems within the protection: cooperation. This technique, combining cooperation and pageant, lets in SMEs to cooperate with massive manufacturers at positive tasks, preserving their independence in different segments. Lengthy bookmarked for family members between the principle industries, cooperation between SMEs and big teams has already been seen in different sectors, as our analysis displays in agrochemistry.
In protection, we apply the prevalence of uneven cooperation methods, the place the agility of SMEs completes the fireforce of enormous teams. They are able to materialize via gadgets that advertise co-innovations similar to Kohoma problem, arranged by way of the Military, or undertaking of century, arranged and coordinated by way of the Common Management on Guns (DGA). The Cohoma problem targets to unite gamers in robotics across the joint undertaking, which is blended groups that carry in combination massive industrialists, college researchers and specialised start-ups.
Syndrome isn’t altered
If cooperation carries robust possible, a number of hindrances slows dedication to firms in this kind of technique, whilst it is in a position to compromise its easy working. First, essential imbalance with regards to sources and weight in the marketplace stays between SMEs and big teams. The latter, robust their historic place and their structural, subject matter and human hanging pressure, can also be tempted to benefit from their dominance and play at the nonetheless current SME dependence to very large teams within the sector.
2d, we spotted fears between two coopers. At the facets of the SME, the worry is double: see their talents and sources that soak up a big staff for aggressive functions and handed an unbalanced seize price created as a part of cooperation. On the a part of massive teams, cooperation stays a technique carried by way of normal departments, but additionally now not built-in into operational practices. Nih syndrome (now not invented right here “), nonetheless found in those groups, is a big impediment for co-innovation procedures.
And not using a transparent framework, SMEs can also be discovered to transmit its wisdom with out city end result and even to be categorized after the combination of innovation. Fernandez, ROI and Chiambarett’s research display that transparent governance mechanisms are crucial for cooperation to paintings reasonably. Due to this fact, supervision is very important for tracking and facilitating cooperation between SMEs and primary protection teams.
Overview the function of public actor
Within the protection business, the general public actor performs a double function as a shopper and regulator. Lively tracking of an business material, can play a structuring function in selling balanced cooperative relationships between SMEs and big teams. That is imaginable, particularly to facilitate direct get admission to to SMEs in the marketplace by way of simplifying give a boost to gadgets, financing the transition on a scale and rationalization of operational wishes.
The buyer regulator can use it usefully to ascertain the local weather of consider between mates by way of multiplying direct alternate. And the problem of elevating consciousness of SMEs on protective their highbrow assets and possibility which are harmonized in cooperation and promotion of balanced cooperative cooperative practices of leading edge innovation. DGA, via its mediator or “Plan in the benefit of ETIS, SMEs and Start-Up” (Peps), might fluidify business family members, acts as a competent 3rd birthday celebration, advertise just right contract practices and inspire strategic data.
Typically, cooperation between SMEs and big teams within the protection business appears to be the solution to practice that France would go back an leading edge and robust soldier.
