THE SIX MAIN THEMES
1. KNOWLEDGE OF DEFENCE COMPANIES: STRATEGIES, STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
The work of identifying defence companies and comparing them with civilian companies has led to the publication of various articles. The DTIB brings together companies with a number of distinctive features. They perform strongly in terms of added value, exports and employment, despite the financing difficulties they face. An analysis of their shareholders shows that the national link is strong, despite the presence of foreign investment funds.
2. DETERMINANTS AND IMPACT OF DEFENCE SPENDING
Publications have been written to assess the macroeconomic causes and consequences of the defence effort. Two main findings emerge: defence spending is more sensitive to budgetary constraints than other public spending, whereas it generates positive economic spin-offs through capital expenditure on the economic fabric. Analyses have also been carried out on arms exports, with the aim of clarifying their historical trajectories and their consequences in terms of security.
3. DEFENCE R&D AND INNOVATION
The strategic nature of DTIB companies is also reflected in the importance of the defence sector in the national innovation system. Defence companies represent a small proportion of French companies, but they account for almost a quarter of French R&D expenditure (civil and defence) and employ more than 20% of French business R&D staff. They also file a large proportion of patents, and rank first in France in terms of patent filings.
4. MAINTENANCE IN OPERATIONAL CONDITION (MCO)
Although MCO is a complex activity, the issues facing all those involved in defence are relatively straightforward: budgetary constraints are tight, and costs tend to rise as a result of technological developments and/or the ageing of fleets, in a context where operational demands are high. The challenge then is to find ways of containing or reducing costs, given the importance of these budgetary and operational constraints.
5. DEFENCE INTEGRATION AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE
Since 2016, there has been a proliferation of defence cooperation initiatives aimed at improving the EU's competitiveness and strategic autonomy: the Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy, the military planning and conduct capability for operations with a non-executive mandate, Permanent Structured Cooperation (PSC), the European Intervention Initiative (EII), the European Defence Fund and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS).