Contenu du sommaire : MCO aéronautique : de nouveaux défis

The under-availability of aircraft fleets has led the Minister for the armed forces to order a fundamental restructuring of the arrangements for aeronautical maintenance in operational condition (MCO aéronautique). She has given it new means and targets through the creation of the Directorate for aeronautical maintenance (Direction de la maintenance aéronautique—DMAé) and by affording it new competences and the necessary assets to rise to the challenge. The DMAé will be the lead organisation for this change, working in partnership with the DGA, the EMA, the armed forces and the defence industrial base.

Aeronautical Maintenance in Operational Condition, MCO aéronautique, is undergoing change, and bringing in new practices focused on innovation and digitisation. The DMAé's commitment to these practices is manifest in the effective tools it has put into place in order to improve processes, reduce costs (whilst guaranteeing safety and security) and bring together the efforts of all the players concerned.

The operational capability of the Air Force depends on a number of factors, including the quality of support which has to respond to the demands made on the service. This in turn requires an efficient and innovative organisation as well as well-trained personnel who are able to support missions wherever and whenever they are required.

The current reform of MCO aéronautique, led by the DMAé, involves the component manufacturers whose essential role is inseparable from the long-term operational life of the various platforms. New innovative processes are therefore needed together with permanent dialogue between all involved, as well as a capability to develop and anticipate.

Defence industrial concerns are key players in ensuring the success of the change in the structure for maintenance in operational condition of aircraft (MCO aéronautique). The current reforms have been taken into account by the French aerospace industries association (Groupement des industries françaises aéronautiques et spatiales—GIFAS), whose recommendations have been noted by the DMAé. Henceforth this teamwork will strengthen the overall capability of our defence industrial and technological base.

Establishment of MCO for the naval air arm is both complex and costly since it has to respond to different and widely ranging operational approaches: it thus requires careful adaptation. The current transformation in MCO must allow for better adaptation to the needs of the Navy if the latter is to remain at the peak of efficiency.

The Army's air arm, the Alat, is a major player in Operation Barkhane. The theatre is complex and the extreme conditions of the Sahel weigh heavily on the maintenance of aircraft. The Alat has adapted its organisation in the field by mobilising its forces—in particular its maintenance personnel—to ensure the success of its missions.

The commissioning into the French Air Force of the A330 MRTT (known as Phénix in France and Voyager in the UK) has brought with it a fundamental change in the support and upkeep arrangements for this new generation of aircraft. The necessary follow-up of these arrangements will be led by the DGA and will include all concerned players from the Air Force to industry—Airbus included, of course.

Upkeep of Rafale is undergoing radical change, with the aim of simplifying processes, increasing availability and easing the work of technicians. New evaluation tools are permitting optimisation of availability of aircraft. The F4 standard will integrate these innovations by adopting the advantages of robotics and artificial intelligence.

The Conversations de Gouvieux (a strategic study centre) offer the opportunity for general reflection, and from diversified points of view, on the challenges of our defence. They highlight the fundamentals of defence as well as the essential transformation needed to ensure our forces maintain their influence. Such collective work enables ways ahead to be outlined.

The proportion of women in the gendarmerie, now at 20.4 per cent, continues to increase. Women can now aspire to all functions of the service, including the mobile gendarmerie. Continued effort is needed to achieve better balance between professional and private life for female gendarmes.

France is a major naval power whose many assets are worthy of better employment in order to respond to numerous challenges, including naval construction, maintenance in operational condition, training and innovation. An ambitious maritime policy is needed that reflects a European scale.

After the Great War, the École supérieure de Guerre (ESG—Senior War College) took on a structural formality which continued into the nineteen-thirties. From 1947 and thereafter, the ESG adapted to contemporary conflicts, those connected to decolonisation in particular, and later took nuclear deterrence into consideration. Between 1876 and 1992, over 8,000 officers attended the ESG.

The vast divides that exist in the Gulf have created a situation that is contradictory, unstable and in permanent crisis. Numerous long-standing rivalries, rooted in a complex history, lead to continual questioning of the various states'ability to establish meaningful dialogue that might avoid the fatalism of perpetual chaos.

Space has once again become a major strategic issue, over which strong rivalry now exists. France was late in defining any space strategy relating to its defence. Recent decisions should clarify the situation and allow the much-needed effort to be made on this vital matter over the coming years.

NATO and European Union member countries are facing numerous cyber attacks, which amount to potential aggression. It would therefore seem necessary to establish joint consideration of digital matters in general in order to increase overall resilience to such attacks and to achieve common agreement on a Euro-Atlantic Cyber-Strategy.

The principle of UN-mandated sanctions applies to the European Union. The mechanisms for their adoption are complex and subject to delicate negotiations between the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, whose interests are somewhat divergent. The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union will leave France in a situation of heavy responsibility.

Despite widespread indifference to the situation, Transnistria is a de facto state that enjoys Russian support. The endemic corruption in its economy nevertheless allows its disenchanted population to survive and benefit from both European and Russian grants.