PARIS \u2014 France is determined to shake up its arms procurement office in a bid to speed up its buying of weapons and pursue new technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly renewed a pledge to boost the Direction G\u00e9n\u00e9rale de l\u2019Armement\u2019s funding for feasibility studies, seeking to help \u201cinnovative\u201d companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrance will be the nation of innovation,\u201d she said Jan. 22 at a New Year\u2019s greeting to the military services. \u201cWe will undertake a reform of the DGA to bring in a faster acquisition and to incorporate innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCivil industry does not have a monopoly on start-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The minister has previously pledged to increase annual funding for feasibility studies to \u20ac1 billion (U.S. $1.2 billion) \u2014 \u201cthe magic figure,\u201d said a defense executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. That is the amount for which Gifas, the aerospace trade body, has long lobbied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The DGA spends an annual average of \u20ac730 million on feasibility studies, which is seen as key for exploring technology for future weapons. Parly also highlighted the importance of arms exports to maintain France\u2019s seat at the world table and her strong support for foreign sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTwo-thousand seventeen was again a good year,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are many prospects in hand. I know our companies are committed, and I want them to know that on every continent I will be their most committed advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
France has yet to publish its report on 2017 arms exports. Paris won \u20ac14 billion of foreign orders in 2016, after a record \u20ac16.9 billion in the previous year. Parly said she was \u201cfully committed in the battle\u201d for the defense budget, having persuaded the Economy and Finance Ministry to release last year successively \u20ac1.2 billion and \u20ac700 million of defense funds that had been frozen. The latter amount had been withheld until the last days of December, and its release meant the annual budget had been spent \u201cdown to the last euro.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The minister noted also that despite the U.K. leaving the European Union, the Anglo-French partnership in missiles would continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, on Anglo-French cooperation, the defense executive said Paris will lobby the European Union to allow access for British companies into two planned EU defense funds: one valued at \u20ac500 million for research and technology, and another valued at \u20ac1 billion for capability development. Those funds are due in 2021, after Britain\u2019s exit from the EU in March next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Anglo-French summit at Sandhurst military academy last Friday, the partner nations said they agreed on \u201cthe ability of U.K. defense industry to continue to be able to engage in European defense research and capability development programs under arrangements to be defined at the European level and in other relevant formats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Britain also at the summit announced the dispatch of three Chinook transport helicopters to help the Barkhane mission in Mali, where French troops are fighting Islamist insurgents. In France, there was some disappointment over that meeting, said a French political source. The loan of Chinooks was of symbolic significance but Britain could have offered its armed Reaper UAV fleet to reinforce the Barkhane operation. In that cross-Channel partnership, France will send on loan to the U.K. the Bayeux Tapestry, a 900-year old embroidery which narrates the French victory of William the Conqueror over English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In European defense, Parly pointed to cooperation with Germany on a new tank, future fighter jet and setting up the transport aircraft fleet at Evreux airbase. The French forces have begun a \u201chistoric\u201d increase in capability, with a \u20ac1.8 billion increase in the 2018 defense budget, followed by an annual \u20ac1.7 billion increase to 2022 and an extra \u20ac3 billion in 2023, she said. Almost \u20ac200 billion will be spent on defense and the forces over 2019-2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese exceptional means have a direction: an increase in power. These historic means have a mission: the renewal of our defense,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
France is determined to shake up its arms procurement office in a bid to speed up its buying of weapons and pursue new technology. In the words of Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly: “Civil industry does not have a monopoly on start-ups.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":52440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":49,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,46,11,12,49,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[464],"class_list":["post-24786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-industry","category-techwatch","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MPNSOEDTF5AX7KEVGQM57XRZII","arc_canonical_url":"\/industry\/techwatch\/2018\/01\/23\/france-armed-forces-chief-florence-parly-defense-will-make-room-for-future-tech\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n