2024-03-04 05:00:00
UA workforce that has doubled, production that has tripled and a visiting minister: in recent months, everything is smiling at Delair. The Toulouse drone manufacturer should generate a turnover of 20 million euros in 2024, “in full growth”, according to Bastien Mancini, the company’s CEO.
The latter is proud to show the success of his firm to the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, visiting the production site, Thursday February 29, in Labège, near Toulouse. In this 2,000 square meter sheet metal hangar, around a hundred employees are busy building drones. Around fifty are produced there each month. Today, there are around 3,000 aircraft flying around the world, the majority of which are in France and West Africa.
“Control of the entire chain”
“We control all layers of the device, which allows us to quickly correct defects. We have all the skills from A to Z to build our drone. » From painting to electronic cards through the computer system, the company prides itself on “controlling the entire chain”.
On the ground floor, little hands are busy assembling the parts of the drone. Change of atmosphere upstairs, where the engineers, glued to their screens, are refining the technical details. “Success is shared between all members of the company,” smiles Vincent Desperiere, sales director of the company.
READ ALSO Ukraine: these long-range weapons that kyiv is asking forAnd this good health should continue because the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, announced major orders: more than 2,000 aircraft for 2024 and 2025, part of which is intended for kyiv. “Delair represents what must be done for Ukraine,” greeted the minister.
Since September, the Toulouse company has supplied 150 intelligence drones to kyiv, financed by France. “The drones were supplied in August to Ukraine, which provided feedback in September and we made an update in October,” explains Luc Arnaud, production director. The team is pleased to help Ukraine – “a source of pride”, some employees even say.
Especially since their equipment is efficient. “We have good feedback from the front,” explained Vincent Breton, director of the joint center for concepts, doctrines and experiments. Concrete example, the flight, for two hours, above a hot spot in the fighting line, without loss of signal despite the jamming techniques put in place by Russia.
“Be bold”
The company, created in 2011, is experiencing growth that surprises the employees themselves. “At the beginning, there were eleven of us in a small warehouse located in an incubator. We never imagined finding ourselves in this situation,” recalls an employee who has been there since the beginning of the adventure. Delair’s trajectory is all the more surprising given that it was first in the civilian field that the firm established itself. But today, the military sector represents 80% of turnover.
READ ALSO Why aid figures for Ukraine should be taken with a grain of saltDelair was able to quickly gain momentum thanks to “a favorable and dynamic Toulouse region in aeronautics” since many companies in the sector are established there. But also by “taking risks”, assures Vincent Desperiere. “We are not a single supplier, we have been able to manage our stocks and define our priorities. We took risks to reap the benefits of the war economy and today we have a good order book,” he says happily.
A risk-taking welcomed by the Minister of the Armed Forces, who regularly calls on defense companies to “be bold”. “Delair is a showcase of the war economy, capable of having reasonable deadlines and prices,” congratulated Sébastien Lecornu. Sometimes, you don’t have to wait until all the orders are firm to tell yourself that customers will necessarily be interested. And Delair understood that the drone market was going to explode, whether in the civil or military sectors. »
“Administrative, a machine to destroy SMEs”
However, in this area, France had “a delay in starting”, concedes an officer present alongside the minister during the visit. Same observation made by Sébastien Lecornu who recognizes an “unfortunate delay in drones due to bad decisions taken ten or fifteen years ago”, leading France to find itself dependent on the United States in this sector. It is only since 2019 that France has armed its drones.
Concrete example of French shortcomings, kamikaze drones, massively used in Ukraine and previously in Nagorno-Karabakh. France has a significant delay in this area and it is Delair, in collaboration with the giant Nexter, who is responsible for making up for it. The first tests of a prototype are planned for the spring and Ukraine should ultimately be the first beneficiary. Between 2024 and 2030, France will devote 5 billion euros to drones.
READ ALSO Arms delivery to Ukraine: the new French strategyAnd if everything seems to be smiling at Delair, the team still points out the administrative burdens that the company faces. “The administration is a machine for destroying SMEs,” confides a soldier in the corridors of the company. More than a year ago, the DGA (Directorate General of Armaments) committed to “a 20% reduction in documentation” for defense companies.
But clearly, this has not yet borne fruit. “Delair’s growth would be even stronger if we had more freedom in regulations,” points out an employee. Demands that the company shared with the ministerial delegation, hoping for improvements.
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