{"id":44904,"date":"2017-12-08T15:21:14","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T15:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/12\/08\/former-procurement-official-joins-mbda-as-france-eyes-new-munitions\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:36:08","slug":"former-procurement-official-joins-mbda-as-france-eyes-new-munitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2017\/12\/08\/former-procurement-official-joins-mbda-as-france-eyes-new-munitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Former procurement official joins MBDA as France eyes new munitions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PARIS \u2014 The former director of international development at the French procurement office Direction G\u00e9n\u00e9rale de l\u2019Armement has joined MBDA and will manage the airborne nuclear sector, the European missile company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSt\u00e9phane Reb has joined MBDA<\/a> on Dec. 1 as deputy to the executive group director programs Patrick Tramier, in charge of supervising all activities concerning the French airborne nuclear component,\u201d the company told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MBDA is prime contractor on the ASMPA nuclear-tipped missile, due for replacement by the ASN4G, or air-to-surface, fourth-generation nuclear weapon, in the 2030s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airborne nuclear weapons fitted to the Rafale fighter jet are a key element of French deterrence, along with a four-strong fleet of submarines armed with ballistic nuclear missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The airborne and submarine weapons are due to be updated around 2035, and the annual budget for nuclear deterrence is expected to double to \u20ac6 billion (U.S. $7 billion) at the peak of the programs in the mid-2020s, according to \u201cThe President and the Bomb,\u201d a book co-authored by Jean Guisnel and Bruno Tertrais.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France is working on studies for ASN4G, the book said. There are studies at Onera, the aerospace research center, on two projects exploring concepts for the fourth-generation missile. The requirement is for a missile range much greater than 1,000 kilometers and which might be hypersonic \u2014 above the speed of Mach 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first option, dubbed Camosis, relies on stealth and would fit well with a replacement for the Anglo-French Storm Shadow\/Scalp cruise missile, the book said. A Camosis weapon would fly at 4,000-5,000 kph and double the performance of ASMPA.<\/p>\n\n\n\t