Feature: MBDA ramps up to hit new targets
MBDA France self-funded the development of the Deluge one way effector. (MBDA)
European weapons conglomerate MBDA announced on 15 July 2026 that Jean-Brice Dumont would take over as chief executive officer (CEO) at the start of November. He will succeed Eric BĂ©ranger, who has been at the helm of MBDA since June 2019.
BĂ©ranger's tenure as CEO of Europe's largest manufacturer of complex weapon systems has been an eventful one. His first big challenge, coming less than a year into the job, was to steer the business through the Covid pandemic and the unprecedented supply chain disruption attendant to it.
The fallout from the pandemic was not yet over when, in February 2022, Russia launched its all-out assault on Ukraine. Western governments quickly committed to supply military aid to Kyiv, with BĂ©ranger and MBDA called upon to expedite the delivery of munitions, materiel and technical support as part of this effort.
Russian aggression against Ukraine also served as a wake-up call for European governments to re-invest in munitions stockpiles after decades of cuts. This has seen MBDA move forward with a rolling investment programme allowing it to dramatically scale up missile production and slash delivery times.
Most recently, the transatlantic schisms opening up as a result of the second Trump presidency have compelled a new focus for European defence. Doubts as to the US government's commitment to NATO, and the wider security of Europe, have obliged leaders across the continent to confront the reality of a world where the old certainties of the alliance are gone. Recent splits with the US administration over military action against Iran have only served to reaffirm this.
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