During his annual press conference in Paris on March 17, 2025, CEO Eric Béranger has underlined the company’s transformation, significantly expanding its production capacity, workforce, and technological innovation to meet the growing demands of European nations.
He declared that “in 2024, missile output increased by 33% compared to 2023, and by 2025, the group will have doubled production compared to 2023," highlighting the company's rapid response to escalating defence requirements. The CEO also provided some outstanding examples such as the production capabilities of MISTRAL VSHORAD and ASTER medium to long range air defence missiles, multiplied by 4 and by 5 respectively.
In 2024, the company's systems have proven their effectiveness in real-world operations, with ASTER missiles deployed by French, UK, and Italian navies in the Red Sea, and the VL MICA system utilized for security at the Paris Olympics.
Financial figures reflect MBDA's growth trajectory. The company reported total revenues of €4.9 billion in 2024, with a record-breaking order intake of €13.8 billion, pushing its backlog to an unprecedented €37 billion. This represents a significant evolution from just six years ago, with both manpower and turnover increasing by 50% since then, while the backlog has doubled.
To sustain this momentum, MBDA is making substantial investments in its future. The company has committed €2.4 billion over the five-year period from 2025 to 2029 for research, production facilities, and technological innovation. This investment plan includes the transformation of its establishment in Selles-Saint-Denis, France, part of a broader €1 billion investment in French infrastructure.
Equally important is MBDA's recruitment strategy. After hiring 2,500 new employees in 2024, the company aims to add another 2,600 in 2025, bringing its total workforce to 19,000. Béranger acknowledged that this expansion presents both opportunities and challenges as the company balances training new personnel while maintaining production.
MBDA's growth is not merely quantitative but also qualitative, with significant advancements in next-generation defence technologies. The company is developing solutions across multiple domains, including deep-strike capabilities with the FC/ASW program, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic systems under the AQUILA project, and AI-driven digital defence solutions through the newly launched NEODE Systems.
Lessons from recent conflicts have also inspired MBDA to invest in mass-oriented solutions such as drone swarms, laser weapons, and remotely controlled munitions. Béranger has indicated openness to new partnerships to address high-volume production needs: "We are approaching companies with mass production capabilities, such as car makers, to explore possible cooperation," he revealed, while emphasizing that high-end missiles remain specialist work.
European collaboration remains central to MBDA's identity and strategy. "In Europe we have all what we need, technology, brains," Béranger stated confidently. The company actively supports EU defence initiatives and NATO collaboration while expanding partnerships across Europe, including new agreements with Poland and Sweden, and some perspectives for deepening ties with Spain.
This collaborative approach extends to specific programs like the Naval Cruise Missile, where MBDA is involved in the European Long Range Strike Approach (ELSA) with France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Béranger also praised Italy's potential addition to the FC/ASW program, reinforcing MBDA's role as a facilitator of European defence integration.
To sum up, this year’s conference has not come with bombastic announcements of new products or glamorous orders. Instead, it revealed an industrial group in full transformation and reorganization, with a large, consolidated product portfolio that needs to be available to customer nations in an unedited industrial scale. At the same time, the group cannot ignore the urgent need for speeding up existing programmes while enhancing its awareness of missile solutions popping up around the world as response to the new hawkish political climate at the global level.
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