From the shadow to the light. Bastien Mancini, the president and co-founder of Delair, manufacturer of fixed-wing drones, has been doing interviews and appearing on television for several days.
It must be said that Sébastien Lecornu’s visit, Thursday February 29, to the premises of this discreet company located in Labège (Haute-Garonne), on the outskirts of Toulouse, did not go unnoticed. Because, in the wake of the new measures announced by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, to provide more weapons to Ukraine, the Minister of the Armed Forces did not come empty-handed.
He announced that he would order 100 remotely operated munitions (MTO) from this SME, which will be delivered in June or July. This purchase, which includes a total of 2,000 MTO, is part of the Colibri program, named after the call for projects launched in 2022 by the Defense Innovation Agency.
“Large stocks”
Delair is not the only company involved: it is associated with Nexter, the manufacturer of Caesar cannons. Another consortium was selected, bringing together the drone manufacturer Novadem and the missile manufacturer MBDA. “These suicide drones or kamikaze drones are essential on the battlefield and are a very important complement in the counter-offensive or front line defense maneuver in Ukraine”explained Sébastien Lecornu, during his visit to Labège. “ [Ils] will also be used for the needs of the French army »he added, without detailing the distribution.
From the Delair manufacturing workshop, the minister also renewed an order for 150 observation and reconnaissance drones, all financed by the State and intended for Ukraine. This new purchase, consisting of 2 models of drones resistant to the Russian jamming system – the DT26 (15 kilos, flight of three hours and range of 50 kilometers) and the UX11 (1.4 kilo, flight of hour and twenty minutes and a range of 10 kilometers) –, follows a first order for 150 unmanned aircraft of the same type, placed by the French army, in July 2023, for kyiv.
Nothing to destabilize Bastien Mancini. “We don’t fall from the tree when we take a peak in ordersassures, serenely, the 44-year-old president. We do not produce to order. We have large stocks per model. It’s a cost, but we take risks to be able to respond quickly. We are in a competitive market, dominated by the Chinese drone manufacturer DJI. »
There is a place to take
To deliver on time in the competitive drone market, Delair, which achieved 10 million euros in turnover in 2023, is banking on another asset. This SME of 100 employees, including 25 production technicians and around forty engineers, controls the entire manufacturing chain internally, from the design of the prototype to the cutting of the fiberglass, up to the assembly of the parts of the flying machine through painting. “We do not depend on partners. This allows us to be reactive when we increase rates”says this former employee of the National Center for Space Studies.
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