Weaponry

Recently, in an interview with Le Figaro, Air Force Gen. Jean-Paul Paloméros, former Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force before becoming NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation (SACT) in Norfolk, USA, advocated using ‘a breakthrough strategy, learning from the asymmetrical and techno-logical approach of the Ukrainians who changed the art of war’. There is no shortage of successful start-ups in France, including in the defence sector. Their problem is to exist, if not to survive, in a world where the major market players intend to reserve the exclusive rights to budgets. As a result, only large projects are supported. To have a chance of breaking through, they have three choices: either to be incor-porated and dissolved into a large group, at the risk of disappearing with their flagship product, or to go bankrupt and be bought out at a low price by predators armed with their capital who are on the lookout, or, last but not least, to emigrate. There are dozens of examples we could mention. We may be far from taking into account the real needs of our soldiers in the field, who are used to suffering when it comes to budgets.