'We beat Northrop Grumman and Honeywell': Paris pushes MBDA and Safran to Brussels as EU defence champions
Source · Defence desk
— Summary
European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius visited MBDA in Bourges and Safran's AASM guided-bomb kit site in Montluçon on Thursday, alongside French ministers Alice Rufo (Armed Forces) and Benjamin Haddad (Europe). The aim: shape how the €60bn of European loans for Ukraine's defence will be allocated, as Viktor Orban's fall in Hungary unlocks the financing timetable. Of the 2,000 missiles that have struck Ukraine, 900 were ballistic: "To destroy just one, two to three anti-ballistic missiles are needed," stressed the Commissioner, while US Patriot production tops out at 750 per year and the Iran war is redirecting that flow into American stockpiles.
The two French industrial champions laid out their case. Safran builds inertial navigation systems in Montluçon that equip AASM guided bombs able to target without GPS — technology the Americans lack (Patriot depends on GPS). "We beat Northrop Grumman and Honeywell, our main competitors," Franck Saudo, head of Safran's electronics and defence division, told the visit. France and Norway have ordered a large volume of AASM for Kyiv for more than NOK 7bn; AASM output has quadrupled in four years to 1,200 units in 2025. On MBDA's side, the Meteor missile travels at more than 5,000 km/h; the SAMP/T NG system co-produced with Thales — 150 km intercept range, 40,000 components with 60% from subcontractors — will be tested in Ukraine in 2026. Aster (the missile component of SAMP/T) output rose five-fold between 2024 and 2025 and is to double again in 2026, with production lead time down to 18 months from three years in 2022. MBDA plans €5bn of investment over the coming years.
The political stake is to direct European funds to European industry, while Kyiv has already signed a €3.7bn contract with Raytheon for Patriot missiles made in Germany — co-financed by Berlin with the US — and Rheinmetall-Lockheed Martin and Diehl-Raytheon have formed transatlantic alliances. "Depending solely on a third-party industry can no longer work," Rufo concluded. Source: Les Echos, 17 April 2026, Anne Drif.
The story in one line. Paris opened MBDA and Safran’s gates to EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius to make sure the €60bn of European loans to Ukraine is channelled to European makers rather than the United States.
Key numbers
€60bn: European loans being unlocked for Ukraine’s defence.
2,000 missiles have struck Ukraine, of which 900 ballistic; 2 to 3 anti-ballistic missiles are needed to destroy one.
US Patriot production: capped at 750/year, being redirected to US stockpiles by the Iran war.
Safran AASM output:×4 in four years, to 1,200 units in 2025; France-Norway order for Kyiv of more than NOK 7bn.
MBDA Meteor missile: more than 5,000 km/h.
SAMP/T NG (MBDA-Thales):150 km intercept range, 40,000 components (60% from subcontractors); Ukraine test in 2026.
Aster (SAMP/T missile component): output ×5 between 2024 and 2025, ×2 in 2026; lead time 18 months vs. three years in 2022.
MBDA investment:€5bn over the coming years.
Raytheon-Germany Patriot contract for Kyiv:€3.7bn.
Why it matters
An inertial navigation system is a device that computes a missile’s or aircraft’s position using only internal sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes), without GPS or external signals. That is Safran’s competitive edge: US Patriot systems depend on GPS, which is jammable, while AASM can strike in GPS-contested environments. An industrial “payment-in-kind” is at work: demand for anti-ballistic missiles is blowing out (2-3 per intercept × 900 Russian ballistic missiles = structural deficit vs. 750 Patriot per year), and the Iran war is pulling American production back into US stockpiles.
The political risk for Paris is the EU’s SAFE programme: it permits derogations for buying non-European kit, and several German players — Rheinmetall with Lockheed Martin on the GMARS rocket launcher, Diehl Defence with Raytheon on a surface-to-air missile — have struck transatlantic deals. Without a credible European offer, the €60bn would de facto fund US industrials.
Takeaway
France is running the strategic-autonomy score on both technology (Safran’s GPS-free inertial) and cadence (×5 then ×2 on Aster). The 2026 in-theatre test of the SAMP/T NG in Ukraine will be the full-scale validation — a success clarifies the choice vs. Patriot; a failure reinforces US buyers.