France reports surging defence export orders

The French government has reported that orders for defence equipment jumped by 31.4% to EUR9.12 billion (USD10.26 billion) in 2018, an increase on 2017’s EUR6.94 billion.

Key programmes that entered into force during the year included the CAMO armoured vehicle procurement by Belgium, NHIndustries NH90 helicopters for Qatar and Spain, the sale of patrol vessels to Saudi Arabia, and the exercising of an option for additional Dassault Rafale aircraft for Qatar.

French defence export orders increased in 2018, but were down on previous highs in 2015 and 2016. (French government/IHS Markit)

The Middle East accounted for about 50% of the total market share for French defence orders, with Qatar being one of the country’s key customers during the year with orders valued at EUR2.37 billion. Orders from Saudi Arabia, another major customer for France in the region, were valued at EUR949 million. Egypt, an area where France has recorded significant growth in recent years, increased slightly to EUR287.4 million, but still down from the high of EUR5.38 billion recorded in 2015.

A total of 892 export licences for the Middle East region were approved during the year, valued at EUR54.23 billion. Licence approvals for munitions and aircraft were the highest valued categories, worth EUR17.93 billion and EUR7.85 billion respectively, followed by defence electronics at EUR7.48 billion and armoured vehicles at EUR6 billion.

The European Union accounted for 25% of orders in 2018, with Belgium’s order for armoured vehicles driving orders from the country to EUR1.13 billion. The report noted that while the CAMO contract had not entered into force during the year, the order had been booked for the 2018 reporting period.