DASSAULT AVIATION

French military intelligence hires CAE to cover ISR missions before Archange 

As they wait for project Archange to be operational, the French armed forces have turned to their long-standing provider CAE Aviation to provide a temporary airborne SIGINT solution.

Long-awaited Falcon Archange enters test phase 

A major French intelligence programme, dubbed 'Archange', aimed at strengthening France's intelligence gathering capabilities, is currently being tested. This project is aimed at improving their performances in the field, whose weaknesses have been highlighted by the war in Ukraine.

Paris pursues big submarine ambitions in Indo-Pacific 

With tensions rising in the waters around China, a busy year of submarine sales prospection is in store for Naval Group and its defence partners in Jakarta, Manila, Delhi and Brunei.

Naval Group's fight for Saudi Arabian combat ship deal sunk by Spain's Navantia 

Faced with the contract won by the Spanish Navantia to equip the Royal Saudi Navy, the French Naval Group has conceded defeat. Intelligence Online takes a look into the background of a competition that did not go well from the start.

Dassault lets CMN and Couach test the water in Baghdad before pushing Rafales 

With Iraq known to be still interested in buying Rafale fighter aircraft, France is trying to identify the country's key decision-makers following the recent change of government. In the meantime, it is counting on the sale of patrol boats to the Iraqi navy to test the country's capacity to buy defence equipment.

Qatar's French Mirage head for Jakarta 

Initially considered for training missions in France, then promised to Bulgaria, 12 French Air Force Mirage will instead wing their way to Indonesia, whose government is trying to wean itself off Russian materiel.

Russia-Ukraine war prompts France to patch over deep intelligence gaps 

The Ukraine conflict has forced France, like Germany, to rethink its 2023 defence budget in order to funnel more funds into special operations and intelligence equipment. Each agency and branch of the army is compiling its list of urgent requests.

Potential Iraqi Rafale purchase publicised by Norman Ricklefs unlikely to fly 

The Australian consultant who has long made Iraq his home caused a stir in the world of French defence last week with remarks that Baghdad wants to purchase Rafale jets and drones from France. In Paris, however, the project is still very much in its infancy, even almost non-existent.

Steinberg Protocol helps French defence industry land contracts in Jakarta 

The Indonesian group led by Frenchman Guillaume Catala is well aware of the French component of Jakarta's spending spree on military equipment in the face of China, and its business diplomacy arm, IBP Partners, has positioned itself as the go-to contact for French arms groups in the country.

• WASHINGTON - ENRC on the move in the US.

• PARIS - Former Dassault adviser Bruno Clermont contracted by ADIT.

• LONDON-DUBAI - 17 Arm loses its lords.

• LONDON - City of London police veteran Chris Felton to join private sector.
  

Lockheed Martin's lobbying brings F-35s to land in Helsinki 

Finland's decision to acquire F-35 fighter jets was helped by the development of closer security relations between Helsinki and the US. It was also a success for Lockheed Martin's lobbying effort - and a failure for that of its rivals.

Business diplomacy firm Nigma plays key role in Franco-Egyptian defence relations 

The consulting firm Nigma Conseil, which works with the likes of MBDA, Dassault and Naval Group is among more than 30 French companies exhibiting at Egypt Defence Expo in Cairo, which opens on 29 November.