The Eurodrone is one of the key programs marking the desire of Europeans to achieve a certain technological and strategic autonomy vis-Ã -vis the United States. While the tone is rising between Washington and Brussels on the subject of PESCO, the manufacturers in charge of the program led by Airbus DS, presented their estimate of the costs of the project to the 4 participating states, Germany, Italy, France and 'Spain.
Obviously, the proposed price was not to the taste of customers, since manufacturers are called upon to review their estimates. Indeed, in addition to the direct cost for the public finances of the 4 clients, the governments estimate that at this price, the contract possibilities on the international market are very limited, in the face of American, Israeli and especially Chinese competition, which is becoming more and more important every day in the field of MALE drones on the international scene.
This is all the more sensitive since the Italian Leonardo has just presented, during the Paris Air Show, his new drone MALE Falco Xplorer, with interesting performances although lower than those of the American Reaper, and built without any component subject to American ITAR regulations, and whose price is considered very competitive.
The fact remains that, as we have repeatedly mentioned here, the concept of gross price is an extremely ineffective concept in terms of public finances. Indeed, the equipment designed and studied by local industry, which moreover takes care to guarantee total strategic autonomy, generates a budgetary return exceeding the State's investment, without taking into account possible exports. Therefore, and beyond the very legitimate search for the right equipment at the right price, the comparison of simple prices between equipment not having the same industrial impact makes no sense from the point of view of public finances, even if , temporarily, this is from the point of view of ministerial spending.
In the case of the Eurodrone, the design chosen, in particular the twin-engine structure, provides major interest regarding flight safety, especially in environments devoid of emergency landing strips, such as African desert spaces, or maritime overflight. In addition, it allows drones to comply with international regulations regarding flying over urban areas, and integration into civil traffic, without having to go through a national derogation principle.
In any case, talking about abandoning the program for reasons of gross costs, as the Minister of the Armed Forces did, seems very premature. It is now essential to change the economic paradigms governing the Defense decision, if France, and Europe, actually want to achieve technological, and therefore strategic, autonomy.