Éric Trappier
Good evening. Thank you for joining us for the presentation of our first half results.
Let's cue the film of the events of the first half. Dassault Aviation and Harmattan AI announced a strategic partnership in January to accelerate the integration of controlled autonomy and AI into air combat systems.
As part of this collaboration, Dassault Aviation took part in Harmattan AI's EUR 200 million Series B funding round. In February, India took a decisive step towards the acquisition of a further 114 Rafale.
The Defense Acquisition Council approved the opening of single source negotiations for this order. Dassault Aviation is committed to expanding its presence within India's industrial ecosystem through new production streams under the Make in India initiative.
On 17th of April, our CEO commemorated the 40th anniversary of the death of our founder, Marcel Dassault. Alongside the family, Éric Trappier laid a wreath on his grave at Passy Cemetery in Paris.
The company he created is still standing. It's doing well and continues to exist thanks to all its employees and thanks to you, the Dassault family, who've supported it over the years.
I believe that everyone at Dassault Aviation carries the Dassault DNA, which is a passion for aviation, the values passed down through generations, and the skills and excellence handed on from one generation of engineers to the next. I believe it was important today to say a few words and thank him on your behalf for everything he did while expressing our deep attachment to his memory, to Dassault Aviation and to the Dassault Group.
Dassault Aviation and OHB, together with several other European partners, are joining forces to propose VORTEX-S to the European Space Agency, a multifunction spacecraft capable of traveling to and from space stations and performing autonomous orbital missions. Together, integrator of the integrator VORTEX-S, the central service module and integrator behind ESA proposal.
Once again, this year, Swedish research firm Universum ranks our company amongst the most attractive French companies across sectors for students and undergraduates. Panel of engineers surveyed places us fourth among their preferred companies, progressing among IT students who rank us 13, business school students who now rank us 27.
They rank it based on a panel of 20,000 students from 173 schools and universities polled from November 25 to May 26. June 4th, Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, 10 of our female employees took part in an event organized by Aérométiers to support women in choosing careers in aerospace.
They introduced several hundred school girls and students from the Paris region to their everyday roles. Many of them, the day provide an opportunity to discover a wide range of careers that help keep our aircraft flying every day.
The third safety award ceremony took place on 16 June 2026 at Saint-Cloud in the presence of Loïk Segalen, Chief Operating Officer. The safety of our aircraft is our highest priority.
It shapes every action and decision across our civil military activities throughout our corporate culture. This year, 10 employees received awards for going beyond their usual responsibility in deploying our safety policy.
Just weeks after its official unveiling in Mérignac in March before numerous customers and prospects, the Falcon 10X successfully completed its first flight on 19th of June. Test pilot Sébastien Dupont and Fabrice Dunais appreciated the aircraft's handling during the two-and-a-half-hour flight performed as expected.
"It was a major milestone ahead of the flight test campaign," said our Chairman, Éric Trappier. It's a beginning of a long history for this new aircraft from the Falcon family, the 10X, the only aircraft in the world that's brand new, just performed its first flight today at Mérignac.
It's an aircraft that will be a game changer, a far bigger aircraft with a far longer range that will really be a flying apartment. Dassault Aviation have great pride, especially the manufacturers, the engineers, the technicians share this collective pride for the development of the Falcon family.
Wednesday, 1st July, the prototype hall of the Musée de l'Air at Le Bourget was renamed Marcel Dassault Prototypes Hall. Ceremony was held on site, attended by representatives of the Dassault family, the prefect, representatives of the French Armed Forces, the DGA and Dassault Aviation.
We're all very moved and honored by this initiative, the museum, because for us, Marcel Dassault remains the iconic figure who founded the company, not just to build aircraft. There's the aviation passion that we all share, but the values that he left us, it's very important.
It goes with the fact of making aircraft and the values that have always existed, respect for employees, social republican values, a certain vision of society. Organized at the initiative of General Caspar Fi long been chairman of the museum's directors, this exceptional tribute to our founder.
We're now going to move to the presentation of results. A reminder, the context remains challenging.
The war ongoing in Ukraine, resumption of hostilities, at least a certain level of hostilities in the Middle East between Iran on the one hand, Gulf States and the Americans. France is involved in order to defend the countries with which it has strategic ties.
An update to the military programming law in a challenging budget context with an increase in the French Armed Forces budget. Post-closing events, July 13th, France/Ukraine concluding a roadmap providing for the acquisition by Kiev of 16.
A half contract hasn't yet been signed. The state that will negotiate with us on a mutual basis with Ukraine will have to complete the drafting of the contract in an ad hoc funding.
July 13th, together with our partner, Harmattan AI, we're not just a shareholder, we're also with Harmattan AI in a partnership, and we performed a collaborative in-flight engagement between Rafale and a drone with a NAMIB electronic warfare payload to detect radars. The EW payload was developed by Dassault Aviation.
Highlight of the first half, the decision by the Indian authorities to acquire 114 Rafale. Discussions are underway to finalize a contract that we hope to see arrive by the end of the year, as you saw in the film.
First successful flight of the 10X to reset the calendar for flight test certification, delivery of first aircrafts. We're targeting 2029 for that.
Let me remind you, as you saw in the film, Dassault is the only aircraft manufacturer in the world to fly an entirely new aircraft of this size for many years, and no one else had achieved that. The final point is the halt of the SCAF announced by the German chancellor and the French president a few weeks ago.
On the program activities for France, the delivery of two Rafale in this first half, with 43 remaining to be delivered in current contracts. The current order book for France.
There's a request from the French state to postpone the delivery of 20 Rafale from 2031, 2032 to 2033, 2034. You'll see in the press or the military program log, we see 22, but we're bringing forward two and postponing two.
That amounts to 20. To find the budgetary leeway in order to fund the new F5 standard of the aircraft with the airborne nuclear component that will carry a new engine, a new radar, and all the interoperability capabilities necessary, collaborative combat, and also to integrate AI in the cockpit to better manage the multitude of data that pilots have to process during war missions.
Currently, be it the Air Force pilots in these challenging regions or Navy, National Navy pilots, they see the workload and the amount of data constantly increase on every military mission. The Rafale export, we delivered 10 Rafale the first half, 165 remaining to be delivered, 208 Rafale to be delivered in the order book.
Apart from the new orders that might be booked in India or Ukraine, we're preparing the new deliveries to the UAE at the end of 2026, and we're continuing our export prospection. There are a number of countries that continue to show interest in acquiring the Rafale.
Halt of the FCAS, a joint decision by the French president, the German chancellor, decided by mutual agreement to halt the FCAS. That was notified a few days ago.
Discussions underway to launch an alternative with France, on a purely French basis initially, or in cooperation of those who might wish to join this demonstrator. The aim is to have a demonstrator based on French requirements that might fly in the early 2031 or 2032 Eurodrone.
We're in dispute with Airbus. Airbus has asked us to exit the program.
We challenged that decision. That litigation has just got underway.
On the space front, you've seen the images. VORTEX-D is the demonstrator that we've launched on own funds.
That enjoys support from the French Defense Ministry Armed Force with support granted by the French Defense Procurement Agency. Initially, VORTEX as the first operational version with a submission or proposal to the European Space Agency as part of an industrial team with Dassault and OHB with a clear delineation sharing of who does what and other industrialists who would join the program.
We're the prime architect of the VORTEX. OHB is architect integrator of the service module.
We continue to seek other European partners who might wish to join this project. We also have non-European partners who've expressed interest and with whom we've begun discussions and prospection.
On the first half, we delivered 13 Falcon aircraft. It's always a bit slow in H1.
I say that before your questions arise. It accelerates in H2.
Orders accelerated, 23 orders first half compared with 8 last year. A marked recovery in sales.
In 2026, the advent of the Falcon 10X for its first successful flight, an entry into service that has been rescheduled for 2029. Make in India.
We continue our investments in India, providing work to DRAL, mainly for the Falcon. Nagpur, we have discussions with the full Indian supply chain as part of the 114.
We already had agreements with Indian companies as part of the contract for the 26 Rafale for the Indian Navy. We're developing now a pure Make in India instead of the offsets to integrate the Indian supply chain for manufacturing the Rafale.
I can't say very much more. We're in negotiations with the Indian authorities.
The flight system, as we'll deliver the aircraft there, and we take responsibility contrary what we did back then for the 126. We select our suppliers, and we'll do the final assembly locally for a number of aircraft.
Many of the 114 with local flying. Continued industrial infrastructure.
We continue to modernize our industrial capability. Nagpur, India, new building under construction to receive more parts to be manufactured locally in India.
We're pleased with the outcome of the initial production done. We're extending the manufacture of the Falcon in India.
Mérignac, new building to be built there in addition to the existing build. We've decided to transfer the flight control test benches from Saint-Cloud to Mérignac to a far more modern, spacious facility with working conditions far better for the engineers and technicians working on these flight control test benches, and it won't be too far from the aircraft.
Istres, renovation of 10X is, you'll have noticed, slightly heavier than the previous aircraft, and there's a need on a number of aircraft pavements to test this new aircraft, and we have to strengthen the ground. On the other plants, we're installing photovoltaic panels to produce electricity, which is self-consumed, part of our plan to decarbonize our facility and also for energy efficiency.
Digital and artificial intelligence, main challenge going forward. We continue to work traditionally with our friends from Dassault Systèmes, 3DEXPERIENCE on the 6X2 modernization deployment, APRISO, Dassault Systèmes for production support.
They'll be implemented in all our plants. I previously stated we're going to take Blur for collaboration.
It's everything that's video with Microsoft and their Teams product, plus industrial planning with in-house developments. AI, we're going flat out.
That's to come. We have automation and generative AI for everything that's internal.
We're currently deploying these internal capabilities, working with Mistral on what is on board. These are developments that we perform here at Saint-Cloud.
We have a second development that we're undertaking with Thales, the Cortex platform that I announced a few months ago. The aim of this is also to be onboarded on the Rafale, as I said earlier, and also to exchange with the armed forces and our Falcon clients to optimize the availability of aircraft.
What's important on AI, the use cases, there isn't one AI that does everything. There are several AI.
Once we pick the algorithms, we have to train it to assist generating the use cases. To check where the data are stored, where they come from in order to preserve the security of our IT and onboard systems.
The results, proper order intake EUR 2.9 billion, no Rafale contracts in the first half. Sales up.
We've delivered 12 Rafale and 13 Falcon, EUR 4.2 billion sharply up. What's interesting to note is the split in the delivery, because it's really the flow of the sales, just over 50% for the export Rafale, just under 30% for the Falcon backlog, and 20% for deliveries in France.
Which never forget the support developments and not just aircraft deliveries. When we talk numbers, Order book slightly lower than that of December 31st, 2025.
We delivered more than we received in orders. Self-funded R&D, that's down, it's logical.
We had a strong self-funded component for the 10X and 6X. The 6X is ending.
The 10X is beginning its descending flight. We've got the test campaigns underway.
A lot of engineering and certification to come, The bulk of the work is behind us. The results, sales at EUR 4.417 billion, operating income EUR 330 million up, with an operating margin of 7.9% up.
Financial results slightly below last year's, That's just a detail. Thales, another equity affiliate, will present its result to the press.
We had the board meeting today, They're up. Taxes, I removed the corporate surcharge that was only to run.
We'd had net income of EUR 570 million. Unfortunately, it's lasting two years, it's minus EUR 74 million.
It's almost the level of tax, excluding the tax surcharge. It's quite a lot.
The net income we compared to the EUR 74 million. In addition, we'd have the same margin as last year in net.
We're not complaining, but it mustn't last on this corporate tax surcharge. We're focused on it in France, Those who don't depend on a certain French order, a tie with the French authorities would need to work elsewhere.
Many are leaving for North Africa, others to China, the automotive sector, as you've seen others, to the U.S., for competitiveness that's far more attractive in those countries, even in Europe and countries such as Spain, Portugal. This tax frenzy must be reduced.
The consolidated available cash has been going up. The cash flow stands at EUR 1.2 billion, and the actual cash is EUR 10.1 billion.
Most of this is the advances paid by customers that have ordered planes. The guidance remains unchanged.
We're looking at EUR 8.5 billion in net sales by year's end, including 40 Falcons to be delivered and 28 Rafales, We're pretty confident we'll be able to stick to that. We bought back some of our own shares.
After this accretion, we now have 67.31% is held by GIMD. The float is 21.78%.
Airbus owns 10.78%, Our own shares stand at 0.19%, We already have a two-thirds majority with GIMD. That's for the half-year results, I'm here to take your questions.
Éric Trappier
Thierry Dubois
Thierry Dubois, Aviation on the 10X, you referred to commissioning in 2029, Some time ago, between the first flight and the commissioning, you had to allow about one year. One year?
Thierry Dubois
Éric Trappier
No, never Usually you are talking 2 years rather.
Éric Trappier
Thierry Dubois
What we found looking at Gulfstream, Bombardier, and Dassault, usually we are more talking about 3 years because the certification requirements have become more stringent. That was the reason I asked why does it take so much longer.
How do you account for the resumption in orders of Falcons?
Thierry Dubois
Éric Trappier
The market has been picking up. Paradoxically, there has been a renewed interest in Asia.
This is good news. We had several more orders in Asia than in Europe.
The U.S. is remaining static, but that applies to all types of aircraft.
The market is pretty active. The only requirement is to be.
The challenge is to deliver these on time. We have supply chain issues, some suppliers are falling behind, and of course, our own cycles have gone longer because of COVID and other issues.
We have issues. We are not the only ones with such issues.
Other players are encountering the same issues. Our friends at Pratt & Whitney in Canada, for instance, have found the same problems.
It is a bit challenging to step up delivery. If we did manage to deliver 40 aircraft this year, it would be damn good.
Éric Trappier
Thierry Dubois
Why is it that certification takes longer?
Thierry Dubois
Éric Trappier
Ever since the Boeing accidents, certification has become a more complicated matter. Here we have a completely new aircraft.
There are new rules, new certification rules that did not apply on the 6X, for instance. We expect the process to take longer, so we remain cautious and we say, after the first flight, say 2029, you have to allow 2 and a half years maybe for certification.
We will get back to you when we have more developments.
Éric Trappier
Thierry Dubois
For Éric Trappier, I have a question. There has been a request on information about the collaborative drone systems.
Was Dassault involved in this request for information, and could you tell us about your strategy?
Thierry Dubois
Éric Trappier
Yes. There has been requests for information from the procurement agency.
We are not at the stage where the acquisition is underway. The DGA, the French DGA wants to have a better understanding of the market, see what supply looks like.
I will not give you details about what our bid will look like. This remains, of course, confidential, but when we put our statement to DGA, this is pre-bid.
It will be for the DGA to find out first. Having said that, on the range of drones, it is a bit like AI.
You have all sorts of AIs, and you have all sorts of drones. You have small drones.
You have small drones that are manually controlled. You have them in Ukraine.
You have those that are completely controlled by AI, and that is what we are doing with Harmattan, because they are not so much concerned about the hardware of drones, but the way in which these AI drives and controls the drones operations, and we are interested. That is what we are doing with them, and we have been working with our engineering teams.
We had the test flight not long ago. We have surveillance drones.
You have big ones like the Eurodrone. You have the smaller ones.
We do not know what will come out of this, but the CCAs. I used not to know what it meant 6 months ago.
It is the American name. It is like the generation 1, 2, or 3.
We have suddenly this American name, CCA, which means everything and anything. These are combat drones that should be in a position to operate on a battlefield together with a fighter plane, but they could be big, small, or medium-sized drones.
Our own actual window is UCAV, that is the combat drone that will be supporting other aircraft in challenging areas. We do believe in that concept, even though the budget isn't ready yet.
We've been working with other partners to make it happen, and these would be combat drones that are medium to large size.
Éric Trappier
Bruno Gerit
Thank you. My name is Bruno Gerit from Drone Aviation.
I would like to have clarifications. You indirectly answered my own questions, but about the postponing some deliveries of Rafales for France, and that will give you more time to develop your F5s.
We're talking about developing the Rafale standard, but also drones, aren't you?
Bruno Gerit
Éric Trappier
Well, as far as things, right now, we are responding to the state, the government's requests. In order to help finance the F5, which is an ambitious project, this is a Rafale fighter plane with lots of novelties, new radars, new countermeasures, new electronics, new engines, new calculators, new ways of engaging in collaborative combat, so maybe some AI in the cockpit.
New weapon systems. We know the deterrence weapons, the ABCD weapons, you know about that.
To bring up this new standard, we need a significant budget. That's one thing.
Because there's lots of hardware involved, of course, this will be very new. I've been postponing the delivery of new planes so that I'm in a position to define my own F5 standard, because otherwise, we'd be stuck with the F4 standard, because then we'd have to retrofit that F4 aircraft, because not only would you have a new aircraft, and then you would have to retrofit it, and that comes at a significant cost, because we have to integrate the new equipment.
That's a smart move in a way. Of course, it does mean that by 2031, 2032 for the Air Force, this will be a challenge, and they said so.
Inasmuch as we already will have a new F5 standard in equipment operating as of 2023, it means every single aircraft after 2023 will have that new standard, therefore they will be in a position to take home these new Rafale F5. In the meantime, you'll be able to deliver planes to Ukraine.
Éric Trappier
Bruno Gerit
That's smart. What's the roadmap then?
What's for this UCAV? Is it still underway?
Bruno Gerit
Éric Trappier
Oh, yes. Well, if you ask me, my answer is yes.
Of course, I'm not the one coming up with the money. It will be for financial partners.
I have been convinced for some time, and the armed forces as well, we believe that when we're looking at high-intensity missions, challenging penetration missions, or how to address ground or ground-to-air threats, if you have a stealth plane drone with a Rafale, that gives you a huge advantage, and we're looking at 2035, we're looking at nuclear deterrence. This is no small feat.
Éric Trappier
Bruno Gerit
Thank you. A final question, last but not least, how shall I put it?
No, sorry, I forgot about this. No, I'll ask it later.
Thank you.
Bruno Gerit
Speaker 4
I'm with FAZ. I have a couple of questions about the next generation fighter craft.
Are you ruling out working with Airbus, even on the combat cloud, for instance? Question number 2, can you give us details on the outlook for cooperation with Sweden?
Why might that work better than with Airbus? Number 3, do you expect a decision by April of next year, that is, prior to the presidential elections?
Speaker 4
Éric Trappier
I'll be brief on that because that matter of NGF and Dassault Airbus is behind us. We've turned the page, so there's no point revisiting that matter.
That's pretty much, we're not going to build a fighter plane together with Airbus. It's a shame, really, because if we have a 50/50 partnership, to my mind, it worked.
Maybe I had it wrong, but two-thirds, one-third didn't work. I explained this many times.
It's not so much a matter between France and Germany. It's Dassault and Airbus.
Two-thirds Airbus, one-third Dassault was a problem for me. It was a problem for them, too, because they said they didn't want to work with Dassault, quite honestly, it made more sense to put an end to that.
For combat cloud, I'm not quite sure what that means. What does it mean to cooperate to engage in combat cloud?
We will cooperate with all countries that the French decide to work with. We will work on the interoperability of various fighter planes, but the challenge is to remain interoperable with European planes made in America, such as the F-35.
Good luck to those doing that because that's a real challenge. Having said that, if there's a German fighter plane, good luck to the Germans.
If there's a French fighter plane and the two fighter planes need to communicate, we'll work on that. On Sweden, I have no comment at this point.
We're happy to work with countries wishing to work with us. A 50/50 cooperation, to my mind, works better than a three-way cooperation with only one-third for me.
I don't want to press the matter, but if things are evenly divided on VORTEX with OHB, we are not saying that we are co-developing. We're each doing one bit, and we work together hand in hand.
OHB, I believe, is a German company, we don't have an issue with Germany, seen from my viewpoint standpoint. We're expecting a French decision.
Éric Trappier
Marc Aubarne
Good evening. My name is Marc Aubarne from Future Warfare magazine, about the combat aircraft.
I believe the door remains open to partnerships with other countries. Would you consider non-European partners that are now good customers of Rafales, or is it your ambition to do things just in Europe?
Marc Aubarne
Éric Trappier
It's hard for me to say. In a personal capacity, yes, I would say we could work with other partners, I know that if you're working on a future fighter plane, it is for the French government to decide.
We have to make sure that things will work with the other industrial partner, otherwise, we'll find ourselves in difficult spots. Again, from my viewpoint, the answer is yes.
If I look at one of my competitors, Tempest from Britain, they work with Japan, they might work with Italy. It is for states and industrialists to decide whether they want to work together or not.
It doesn't matter whether you're made in EU or not, as far as I'm concerned again.
Éric Trappier
Marc Aubarne
Do you have a taboo as to the number of partners because you see that too many cooks spoil the broth?
Marc Aubarne
Éric Trappier
No, I don't have taboos. We made requests with six countries, that worked.
When we worked on Eurodrone, I didn't have five partners. That was Airbus, one partner had five sixths, I had only one sixth, that's no-go.
If there are six parties and each gets one sixth, that's fine with me.
Éric Trappier
Daniel Chrétien
Good afternoon. My name is Daniel Chrétien from Air & Cosmos.
A question about the VORTEX. Can you tell us what type of Europe partner are you looking for, what kind of non-European partners have you got, at least what kind of talks are you having?
Daniel Chrétien
Éric Trappier
Right now, we're working alone on VORTEX-D. For VORTEX-S, we are turning to the European Space Agency, we are seeking European partners.
We do have partners in Germany, in Spain. There are a number of countries, if others want to join, we're happy to take them on board because it is an ambitious project.
Alongside that, for the same concept, we're seeking partnerships with other countries.
Éric Trappier
Sarah White
Sarah White from the Financial Times. I had a couple of questions, one on the F5.
Can you clarify the role played by the United Arab Emirates? I believe there have been talks with EDGE Group.
I don't know if there are other financial talks. I'm not quite clear whether they are involved in the project or not, whether this might happen in the future.
I have another question about the future aircraft you've been discussing. That's being discussed with the French government.
This very concept of future aircraft, is that concept changing over time? Is this going to take time as to the shape or the role of that aircraft in the future?
What will be the features in terms of stealth or whatnot?
Sarah White
Éric Trappier
On the F5, it's certain that all the countries interested in the Rafale already possess the Rafale, are interested in the F5. They're requesting information from France to say, "What are your plans for the F5?"
When we Dassault were studying the preliminary studies to see how far we can go in F5 development to contract with France and exclusively with France to develop the F5 as we did for the F4, the F3R. It's purely French, there are a number of countries, including the Emirates, interested in what the F5 might be, perhaps interested in.
When we did the 2009, a while back, they co-funded the electronic pod. The Damocles was partly funded by the Emirates.
On the future aircraft, let me tell you, there's a time to hesitate, to look at the options, there's a time to decide. Those who decided to launch the Rafale 40 years ago, at some point, did they know how we were going to wage war today?
Definitely not. Since the fall of the wall, there was no need for aircraft, no need to wage war, no need for weapons.
It was a bad thing to produce weapons, if you listen to the European commissions. After the fall of the wall, there were tensions in Europe, a war in Europe, so we need to re-arm, and the Rafale is operated on the front.
To reassure countries that with the challenging eastern border, they're in operation in the Middle East in order to reassure Gulf States that, in partnership with France, the Rafale is operational. We had to design an aircraft that could evolve depending on military feedback and take into account a number of factors.
What we need now is once and for all to say, "This is what we'll need." It's not easy in 30, 20 years' time, but with the Rafale, we're extending its life after 40 years.
We're going to extend it for another 40 years. It's incredible.
We have to really take the plunge, and the best way is we absolutely have to decide to go for it. Now is the time.
We have the expertise, the skills that are there. They need to be fueled.
We have competencies that haven't disappeared, beginning to be complicated on the engines. We haven't built a combat engine for 30 years.
Our friends with the Safran, the F5, a more powerful engine, and the engine for the future combat aircraft. We have to go for it.
We have to have the right metrics, the demonstrator that isn't the culminated product, as it wasn't the case for the Rafale today, but it was a formula of a fighter aircraft that takes all the parameters with trade-offs between the size. Some want very big aircraft.
Okay, we see some fly from time to time in the Middle East. Others who want to build smaller aircraft.
There, we need an aircraft carrier. It's not that simple.
There aren't many countries that are capable to master that technologies and varied missions, nuclear deterrence, and cross well-defended border. With today's state-of-the-art and anticipating what we see in conflict evolution, we need to build a demonstrator to see what we could do as an aviation company with our 75 years of experience.
Then we'll see the systems. There'll be drones, I can guarantee you the combat aircraft will exist.
What drones won't replace the combat aircraft that arrive with a combat aircraft, the complexity of battlefield means we'll need to have AI on board and on the ground in mission preparation and mission feedback to understand how there'll be collaborative combat, whether it's a cloud combat, a repeat, don't know what cloud combat. We're already doing that.
We've just done it with small drones, but in a squadron of Rafale today, there's collaborative combat. We have to extend it, more data.
Well, those are metrics that we know, but now we must go for it. Otherwise, it's difficult to say what's the war going to be in 40 years.
But if we ask ourselves that question, we do nothing. If we do nothing, we'll have to undergo, suffer the U.S.
developments.
Éric Trappier
Bruno Gerit
Thank you. I've remembered it.
Just a few years back when we stopped working with the Germans and other countries. We ended up alone.
In France, there was quite a bold decision taken back then, 25% of the initial development of the Rafale was done by industry. Is that a possible avenue either for the development of UCA or the future aircraft?
Bruno Gerit
Éric Trappier
It's a contractual matter. It doesn't call into question what I said.
It's a contract. If we put 25, 10, 15% or more in a development, I just want that contractually, I recover the money afterwards, and that was the wager done on self-funding of the Rafale, and it was my predecessor, so it's easy for me to say that the state said, "Well, 25%, forget it.
You'll never get them, and they won't be amortized." We stopped self-funding the 25%.
All the contractual arrangements formula, I'm prepared to be very flexible in the contractual arrangement. When you do a business plan in civilian marketing, I'm going to sell 200 aircraft over 20, 30 years.
You produce them, they're amortized, it works, or it doesn't. Difficult to say how many future combat aircraft we're going to.
It's the state that decides. I think the state has picked another way, that is the state will pay a fee every time we sell an aircraft on the export market.
Why not? It's a parliamentary decision taken not so long ago.
We'll comply with that without any difficulty.
Éric Trappier
Speaker 8
Hi, Antoine working at Sonnenburs. Just to ask you if there was still a plus in having a manned aircraft, what the human can bring by way of added value compared to AI drone?
Speaker 8
Éric Trappier
AI isn't mad. The human can be mad.
In this madness, he'll be capable of going beyond the limits, the intellectual. That's why in the Fighter aircraft, the pilot's absolutely necessary.
AI is going to calculate less fast than AI if he needs an evasive maneuver. Put an AI, what's the best evasive?
The time it takes to calculate, he'll have been shot down, but he'll be heart of the action. The heart of the action, he'll have his human brain with his reason, his fear, because there's anxiety when you're fighting, his genius, his folly, but you could call it genius, such that he'll be superior because it'll be less expected than AI.
I really believe that in air combat, man will remain in the loop. Might be shifted a bit with drones, with algorithms, but there will be a pilot in the aircraft.
We ask a question for civilian, we say quite rightly, it's the pilot who undermines the reliability, but sometimes the aircraft pilot saves it. On the Potomac, AI would've plunged it, crashed the aircraft, but the human saved it.
We've all asked that question. For the next 20, 30 years, pilot will remain a key factor in the aircraft, even if there'll be a lot of automation, even if he's on board, there's no doubt.
For us, it's difficult, for example, as I said, in a Falcon, just one pilot doesn't work. The certification agencies are not in favor of we're trying to put a pilot who could sleep, but that's complicated while the other's awake, because you need a way of waking up one pilot if the other falls sick or has a heart attack over the Atlantic and the complex approach.
You need two pilots. Increasingly, there'll be automation.
That automation, given the growing amount of data, there'll be algorithms, AI algorithms, call them what you will, and automation. There'll always be a pilot, perhaps not the one who's activating the controls.
Nod to the pilot. He thinks he's flying the aircraft, but it's the flight control system that flies it, that balances the safety, et cetera, for it to fly.
It's a real challenge of the man-machine interface both in the civilian and military sphere. It's the human factor engineering, something that's important.
We're working with universities, with ISAE-SUPAERO to try and really what happens in the human brain to help the pilot to better decide, better alerts, more responsive, faster, but his intelligence remains in the loop.
Éric Trappier
Speaker 9
Thanks. Just an HR, human resources question, and one on the Dassault model.
To confront the increase in the production rate of the Rafale and the Falcon, if the sales trend continues, do you have to up your headcount, by how many?
Speaker 9
Éric Trappier
On the Dassault model, correct me, dual model, business aviation and combat aviation, if the VORTEX system works, if it operates as that Dassault has three legs, the space, the third. I don't have the production schedule of 25/40 for the VORTEX, so we'll wait a bit.
I think it's more development of exploration, if we start, if it comes operational after all, why not? That would be interesting.
On headcount increase, we've increased headcount significantly. A lot of people retiring.
We hired a great deal 40 years ago, the challenge remains the same. We have to train the new hires.
It takes time. That's a workload with the ramp up, we're slowing a bit.
We're ready for the ramp-up of the Rafale. The Falcon schedule isn't rising.
If we can have on-time delivery, we plan to deliver 40. We're going to up a little.
There are bigger aircrafts that are there. We've discontinued other aircraft that won't really make a big difference.
We're still continuing to hire. We plan to hire perhaps not at the same rate as the last 2 or 3 years.
We're looking, there's manufacturing, engineering, we're having a brief pause on recruitments. If we need to hire, we'll recruit.
When you recruit, if you have a sudden drop in the workload, it's complicated with the Rafale at production rate 4 in the early 30s. If you go to 1, it's challenging.
You're not going to say, "Well, we'll let you go overnight." We don't do that in France.
In the U.S., they do. We have to juggle with that.
No taboos.
Éric Trappier
Speaker 10
Hello. Thanks.
On business aviation, the Falcon, you said earlier that demand is rising in Asia. What type of customers are that?
Speaker 10
Éric Trappier
For example, is your customer base, there are new billionaires created by the world of AI, if there are new clients and a reaction to the decision on the EU. If it was only billionaires, well, we'd be out of business.
The majority of our clients are companies that need to run their business efficiently for their trips because it's a global market. They need to travel.
They're companies. That makes up the bulk of our clients.
It's the type, in the U.S., it was general aviation. Business aviation was born there with us to a certain extent.
Our aircraft are for large American corporates that need to travel, mostly in the U.S., a big country, and globally. Ditto in Europe.
It's large companies in Europe that have bought business jets. The Asian model, more complicated because Asia, is it China, is it Japan?
Not quite the same models. It's changing because these countries have developed hugely.
There are now large companies, and they need to travel efficiently. If you take a line, you do a point to point, but when you use a business jet, you can change your takeoff time.
You can change your meeting schedule. Once you've arrived, you can change the next destination quite flexibly with short trips or longer haul trips.
It's a flexibility. Use aircraft or airports that are less congested than where your favorite airline flies to.
You don't have to stand in line for so often. You get smaller airports.
When you're on board, you can work. You have a workspace with your team.
No confidentiality in an aircraft when you're speaking to your neighbor. The guy at the back of the aircraft hears everything and notes everything.
That security, the business jet model will continue to develop. Billionaires, well, if there are billionaires who want to buy Falcons, we're quite happy to sell them.
There aren't many. The decision by the EU, well, we did that really because we were a bit dejected and rather traumatized by a commercial aircraft that has very little alternative fuel and integrated in the European taxonomy and general aviation that can have a lot of alternative fuel is not there.
If you operate a U.S. business jet, you're not under pressure by the EU.
The EU, the Commission, is turning exclusively against its European companies. It's nothing new.
It happens every day. This disappointment allowed us to file a legal claim.
There's discrimination between various types of aircraft, and we won the case. This discrimination was recognized, and we're returning to something more balanced between the various aircraft types, and we'll see the next decisions.
Maybe the Commission will appeal, but I won't comment. The decision is just a stage 1, and it's not the final stage yet.
Well, if there are no further questions, wishing you a happy summer, a restful holidays. For those of you taking holidays, I will be taking holidays.
I very much need them. Thank you all very much.
We'll see you soon again.