As paradoxical as it may seem, inside the Arquus factory in Limoges, the atmosphere has been gloomy since the presentation of the military programming law (LPM), in the Council of Ministers, on April 4. Engineers and technicians are busy, on April 6, around engines, chassis and other electronic parts. But in this company which manufactures 90% of the vehicles of the army, the anxiety is palpable, while the executive has chosen to reduce by several hundred its orders for armored vehicles initially planned for the period 2024-2030. ” It’ll be hot “worries a manager.
Caught between the explosion of inflation (which should make the LMP more expensive by 30 billion euros by 2030) and the continuation of the modernization of nuclear deterrence, also very costly, the government has made the choice – contrary to what the feedback from the war in Ukraine since February 2022 might lead us to believe – to give up building up the armies, in particular the army. A carefully considered decision, but which should result, if the bill is passed as it stands by July, as the Elysée hopes, “by a drop of 20% to 25%” on the equipment targets initially planned for Arquus, details its president, Emmanuel Levacher.
Concretely, since the previous LPM, voted in 2019, which already partly anticipated military spending until 2030, it was planned that the company, which employs 1,500 people spread over four sites in France, build in particular 1,872 multirole armored vehicles Griffin, and 300 Jaguars. The latter, a reconnaissance and combat tank, was to replace the old AMX-10 RC put into service in the army in 1981, some of which were sent to Ukraine. Finally, the State decided to limit its orders to 200 Jaguars and 1,345 Griffons.
Risk of “working time modulation”
A particularly uncomfortable situation for Arquus, as the company has already lost the Serval market to Nexter and Texelis in 2018. An armored infantry fighting vehicle, which is the only one whose park increases significantly in the future LPM. The target of 978 units in 2030 has been raised to 1,405, or more than 40%.
Arquus does have the Caesar cannon market, for which it manufactures the frames, to make up for it. The number of French Caesars should increase by 40% by 2030, from 77 to 109, but in reality, this ambition had already been traced since 2019.
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