ArianeGroup welcomes French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin at its Les Mureaux site

On 10 March, Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup, welcomed Catherine Vautrin, French Minister for the Armed Forces, to the company’s Les Mureaux site. During her visit, the Minister highlighted the importance of ArianeGroup’s sovereign capabilities in both defence and space.

“Our country can rely on the invaluable expertise ArianeGroup possesses in the field of ballistic warfare.” With these words, the Minister addressed Martin Sion and ArianeGroup employees just a few days after the speech delivered by President Emmanuel Macron on France’s nuclear deterrence at the Île Longue military base.

Not only to “ensure the long-term credibility of nuclear ballistic capabilities” with the M51, she continued, but also to “develop two elements mentioned by the President”: ballistic missile defence and deep strike capabilities, “including the development of conventional ballistic missiles”.

Following a visit to the integration hall for the Ariane 6 main stage, Catherine Vautrin also highlighted the dual nature of ArianeGroup’s civil and military activities, which lies at the heart of the company’s model and responds to the evolving geostrategic context: “Today, the battlefield extends from the seabed to space.”

ArianeGroup’s dual model, she added, “enables investments and expertise to flow into new technological and industrial programmes”. She also underlined the importance of European cooperation in space and defence, as well as ArianeGroup’s role as a “Franco-German industrial leader”.