At Eurosatory on 19 June Terma CEO Henriette Hallberg Thygesen and MBDA CEO Eric Béranger undertook to collaborate in strengthening the European industrial base and increasing resilience. Observing the signature of the agreement were Danish Minister of Business and Competitiveness, Martin Lidegaard and French Minister Delegate for Industry, Sébastien Martin.
The agreement goes beyond traditional industrial participation, including joint development activities in naval programmes and also creating significant export potential. The companies will be able to develop new solutions to help allies strengthen both air defence capabilities and maritime security. The agreement represents a significant step for Terma as it continues to grow as a developer of advanced defence solutions, providing access to new international opportunities through MBDA’s global market presence and customer base.
“By combining MBDA’s world-class missile expertise with Terma’s advanced maritime systems capabilities, we are strengthening both Danish and European defence [further reinforcing] competencies that are critical to Europe’s future security,” Thygesen said. MBDA’s Béranger added that the agreement “marks the first step of a long-term cooperation with Terma and the Danish industry. It reflects on MBDA’s DNA of cooperation to develop innovative solutions meeting the needs of the armed forces and strengthening our European defence capabilities.”
DA Comment
As with most agreements in this vein in recent months, the companies emphasised the ‘soft’ benefits that will emerge: support for highly skilled job creation and accelerated industrial development among them. Despite the number of such announcements being made across the continent, the question remains as to how industry consolidation will best be achieved. Fine sounding protestations of intent to cooperate are all well and good – and in almost all cases, including this one, are perfectly genuine. But the road to international cooperation is not an easy one, as the recent collapse of one of Europe’s most promising aircraft development programmes shows. Collaboration takes commitment and compromise in equal measure: the former is no earthly use without the latter.
Headline image: Terma brings extensive naval radar integration expertise to the table, among a host of other capabilities. (Terma A/S)
