Brussels, 20/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - The president of the French group DCN, Jean-Marie Poimboeuf, announced on 17 April in Le Figaro that a “club”, to be called the “Warship Procurement European Club”, is to be set up bringing together the key European players of the military naval sector. Composed of DCN, British VT and BAE, German TKMS (the result of a merger between the ThyssenKrupp and HDW yards), Finmeccanica (Italy) and Navantia (the new name for the Spanish company, Izar), the group aims to pool specifications for joint procurement in order to reduce supplier costs, Mr Poimboeuf explained, saying that procurement accounts for up to 65% of the cost of armed naval forces. Also, DCN, TKMS and Navantia have decided to put proposals to the European Defence Agency on maritime security in order to set up a common project. DCN hails these two initiatives as laying the foundations for the development of a future European naval force. For now, Le Figaro writes, DCN is based on orders that ensure it has a sound basis for activity in coming years and for future contracts, especially the order for the Barracuda submarines for the French Navy. A first delivery of six submarines worth €6 billion may be notified at the end of the summer. DCN has made a third offer to the French Defence Ministry after having reviewed its prices downward by 20%.
DCN, in partnership with the electronics defence group Thales, has repeated on several occasions that it wishes to play an active part in the expected consolidation of the naval sector at European level. Under the terms of the agreements signed end December 2005 by the two companies, the defence electronics company must take 25% of DCN capital and pay compensation of €100 to 150 million in exchange for the contribution of its subsidiary, Thales Naval France, its 50% in Armaris, their joint international promotion firm and its shares in MOPA2, the company that heads the Franco-British aircraft carrier project. (Source: our publication Atlantic News).