Sections

France

Noteworthy Features Relevant to the Indian Context

References

 

[This piece is in continuation to “Approach to Defence Innovation: Russia, Israel and France – Part I”, which covered the defence innovation approaches of Russia and Israel]

France

France has achieved a very high level of self-reliance in defence technology. Although its Defence Armaments Procurement Agency (DGA) closely monitors defence innovation processes, over the years the French government has decreased its control by shifting large parts of design and system integration to the industry and opening up to collaborative R&D within the EU. Most of France’s domestic military needs are met indigenously, and its focus on defence innovation is very high, with the result that it has consistently been amongst the top five arms exporters in the world [1].

Defence Industry

At US$23.2 billion in 2018, the combined arms sales of Top 100 companies based in France were the second highest in Europe and fourth highest in the world (excluding China). Six French companies, namely, Thales, Naval Group, Safran, Dassault Aviation Groupe, CEA and Nexter accounted for 5.5% of total Top 100 arms sales. Thales ranked amongst the top ten, with US$9.5 billion worth of arms sales. Also, the arms sales of Dassault Aviation Groupe (ranked 34th), rose by 30% to $2.9 billion, largely attributable to the growth in exports of Rafale combat aircraft to Egypt, India and Qatar [2].

Source: SIPRI Fact Sheets – The SIPRI Top 100 Arms Producing and Military Service Companies, 2018.

Defence R&D Budget

As per SIPRI Fact Sheet of 2019 on Military Expenditure, France ranks sixth in the world at US$50.1 billion [3]. Further, France ranks 13th in the world in terms of expenditure on national R&D as a percentage of GDP (UNESCO Statistics [4]). As per a US CRS estimate for 2017, France spent US$1.43 billion on Defence R&D, which is roughly .05% of its GDP, and the fifth highest expenditure amongst OECD countries [5].

 

Source: SIPRI Yearbook: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security and UNESCO Institute of Statistics (Compiled by Index Mundi) [6, 7]

 

Noteworthy features of the French approach to defence innovation are briefly outlined in the succeeding paragraphs.

Defence Armaments Procurement Agency (DGA)

The DGA, a department of the French MOD, is a strong influencer of technological defence capabilities through its direct control of major weapons programs. The DGA prepares threat scenarios and identifies suitable technologies and military systems to respond to the envisaged threats in close coordination with the Armed Forces, and thereafter directs defence R&D accordingly. It also identifies technological skills necessary to build the military systems, closely controls and monitors the development of systems, and also prepares plans for equipping the Armed Forces with the new systems.

Defence Innovation Reforms

Prior to the decade of the 1990s, the DGA played the role of a “project owner”, using its in-house expertise to involve itself deeply in the design of various R&D programs. Its Directorate of Research and Technical Studies (DRT) empowered it sufficiently to act as a technical authority on military systems. As a project architect, the DGA possessed architectural as well as component knowledge, and it was in a position to influence the choice of technical solutions.

In 1997, driven by budget constraints, the DRT was dismantled and the role of DGA reduced to that of a “procurement agency”. With the loss of DGA’s technical expertise, the role of the Industry increased in the development of military systems. Another set of reforms in 2003 re-cast the DGA in the role of a “project manager”, with the task of translating military needs into technical specifications. This was necessitated because of the ICT driven revolution in military affairs which was being witnessed at the turn of the century, requiring in-depth knowledge of a range of military missions and their impact on specifications of new military systems. Due to the technological complexities of these military systems, the DGA’s current expertise is limited to knowledge of sub-systems composing the complex products and systems (CoPS). This role of the DGA requires it to know Industry capabilities as also the financial and organisational implications of technological choices.

To summarise, in response to the changing requirements of national security, the DGA has shifted its role from that of a Project Architect doing research & technology (R&T) management pre-1997, through that of a Procurement Agency doing product management and management of outsourced research between 1997-2003, to its current role of a Project Manager carrying out monitoring and technology control through management of innovation networks in a partnership approach for efficient absorption of technology [8].

Defence Innovation Agency (DIA)

The DIA was established in September 2018 in order to place innovation at the heart of the transformation of the French MoD. With an annual budget of almost US$1.5 billion, the DIA, in conjunction with the DGA under whose aegis it operates, coordinates all military innovation activities. It orients innovation strategies, coordinates and pilots the innovation work done by the armed forces and collaborates with public and private partners domestically as well as internationally. It provides a single point of contact for any innovation project owner as well as new research initiatives such as the Innovation Defense Lab, designed to accelerate the experimentation, prototyping and deployment of innovation [9]. It is referred to as a “French DARPA”, ie, a super-agency of innovation, structured as an open organization. The Innovation Defence Lab within the DIA is also tasked to identify civil technological innovations transferable to the military field. It is noteworthy that the Director of this new agency, Emmanuel Chiva, has been active for more than 20 years in the fields of artificial intelligence and military simulation [10].

Military Research Laboratories

The technico-operational laboratories (LTOs) in the MoD facilitate partnerships between the DGA, the military services and the Industry. LTOs are organizational units that implement new technological platforms. They enable simulation of technologies against an operational backdrop, and act as a useful feedback mechanism between the Services and the Industry. LTOs are manned by DGA engineers and specialist senior officers from the military posted to the LTO on deputation. Combined teams composed of technical as well as operational experts serve as an excellent means for exchanging tacit knowledge and critical information to solve specific problems that occur when systems are tested in an operational setting [11].

The concept of LTOs is more than a decade old and the Army, Navy and Air Force have their own service-specific laboratories. However, the Army Scorpion Battle Lab, which in its earlier version was an LTO, deserves special mention. It also has a linkage to Project Scorpion, which is originally a US Army concept initiated in 2004 as a military modernization effort flowing out of the wider military notion of Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). Project Scorpion was promoted by the US Department of Defense as a means of ensuring multinational interoperability within NATO militaries [12]. As a consequence, France too launched Project Scorpion in 2010. Subsequently, it grew over the years and has incorporated emerging technologies such as robotics, vehicle cyber security and new military platforms within its ambit. The Army Scorpion Battle Lab, which handles the hub of the French Scorpion network, is located at the Centre for Doctrine and Command Teaching (CDEC), Paris. It conducts wide-ranging exploratory work to measure what impact new military innovations will have on future armed conflicts. Meanwhile, it also analyses the advantages of incorporating military-grade or militarized civilian technologies into the Army (AI, augmented reality, robotics, smart munitions, directed-energy weapons, etc) [13].

The other noteworthy LTOs are the Navy Lab and the French Air Warfare Centre. All LTOs orchestrate the direct involvement of warfighters in the innovation process. These laboratories also connect with universities and start-ups through the “participative innovation program” run by the DGA to fund prototypes. In addition, they contribute to spreading the user-centric innovation approach inside the French Ministry of Defence [14].

Noteworthy Features Relevant to the Indian Context

As stated at the outset, the motivation for this series of articles is to identify and suggest measures which may be adopted by India to revitalise its defence R&D enterprise which has so far been largely unsuccessful. Having reviewed the strategies which have been adopted by Russia, Israel and France in the recent past to give a boost to indigenous innovation, several noteworthy facets emerge which might find productive application in the Indian context, as listed below:-

Russia

• Importance of Doctrines. Russia recognizes the importance of evolving doctrine to drive military R&D and force modernization, and their approach to defence innovation has been guided by this principle.
• Central Defence Innovation Agency. The complexities of coordination and achieving the desired level of synergy between the government, military services, industry and research & academic institutions dictate that an effective central coordinating agency is an imperative for successful innovation. Russia’s VPK, under the leadership of President Putin, meets this requirement very well.
• DARPA Model for High Risk Research. Successful high-risk research into potentially revolutionary military technologies requires an approach which is different from that adopted for incremental improvements to military technology. Russia is stated to have taken inspiration from the world acclaimed US DARPA model and created its FPI in response to this requirement.
• Focus on Dual-Use Technologies. Russia has wisely focused its research efforts on dual-use technologies and on achieving a high level of civil-military integration, in order to conserve costs and achieve quick results in upgrading its military technologies.

Israel

• Soldier Scientists. The extremely high importance accorded by Israel to creating a cadre of ‘soldier scientists’ is arguably the principal reason behind its unique success in becoming the third largest arms exporter in the world, despite a world GDP ranking of 31 in 2019. Its statistics on researchers per million (8000) is twice that of the US and 40 times that of India (200). Its Talpiot Program is a shining example of how to groom soldier scientists.
• Working Ethos. The IDF’s informal working ethos characterized by scant regard for hierarchy and encouragement of out-of-the-box thinking, together with its nationalist spirit arising out of a perceived existential threat, are together significant contributing factors for Israel being so successful in defence innovation in sophisticated technologies.

France

• Agility in Defence Innovation Reforms. France has displayed commendable agility in carrying out transformative reforms, first in 1997 and then again in 2003, to keep abreast with the breathtaking advances in military technology and its impact on the nature of warfare. This, together with organizational restructuring such as the creation of its Defence Innovation Agency, are perhaps responsible for France being the third largest arms exporter in the world.
• Defence Innovation Agency. The DIA, modeled on the US DARPA, is another significant step taken by France to give an impetus to defence innovation.
• Defence Labs (LTOs). The establishment of LTOs, amongst which the Scorpion Army Lab is a good example, which facilitates close interaction and feedback amongst the DGA, Industry and the military services against an operational backdrop, is also an initiative worth emulating.

Conclusion

In this article, the approaches of Russia, Israel and France towards bolstering defence innovation have been reviewed. Noteworthy features of each of these three countries, which are together responsible for 82% of India’s technology imports, have been discussed in some detail and summarised above. The facet which stands out the most is the sheer grit and determination of Israel which, despite being a young and small nation with a limited GDP and under constant threat from its neighbours, has nevertheless emerged as a major exporter of sophisticated arms in the world.

The series will now turn its attention towards to India’s existing Defence R&D ecosystem, identify its strengths and weaknesses and propose structural reforms to overcome its shortcomings, with special emphasis on the pivotal role which the Indian Armed Forces need to play towards energising defence innovation in India.

References

(1)     Martin Lundmark, A Quest for Autonomy and Excellence: The Defense Innovation Systems of France and Sweden, SITC Research Briefs, 30 May 2018, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/037138xt.

(2)     Dr Aude Fleurant et al, The SIPRI Top 100 Arms-producing and Military Services Companies, 2018, SIPRI Fact Sheets, Dec 2019, pp. 4-5, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://sipri.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/1912_fs_top_100_2018.pdf.

(3)     Nan Tian et al, Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2019, SIPRI Fact Sheets, Apr 2020, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/fs_2020_04_milex_0_0.pdf.

(4)     Research and Development Expenditure (% of GDP) – Country Ranking, UNESCO Institute of Statistics, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS/rankings.

(5)     Government Expenditures on Defense Research and Development by the United States and Other OECD Countries: Fact Sheet, EveryCRSReport.com, 28 Jan 2020, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R45441.html.

(6)     France – Military Expenditure (% of GDP), Index Mundi, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/france/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS.

(7)     France – Research and Development Expenditure (% of GDP), Index Mundi, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/france/indicator/GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS.

(8)     Nathalie Lazaric et al, Changes in the French Defence Innovation System: New Roles and Capabilities for the Government Agency for Defence, Industry and Innovation, July 2011, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00599727/file/Changes_in_the_French_Defence_ionnovation_System.pdf, pp. 509-530.

(9)     Ministry of Armed Forces: Defence Innovation Agency, La French Tech Central, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://french-tech-central.com/en/service-public/ministry-of-the-armed-forces-defence-innovation-agency/#:~:text=The%20Defence%20Innovation%20Agency%20was%20created%20on%201%20September%202018,or%20use%20and%20opportunity%20innovation)..

(10)   Jacques Knight, France has a brand new Defense Innovation Agency, Presans, 03 Nov 2018, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://open-organization.com/en/2018/11/03/francais-la-france-a-son-agence-de-linnovation-de-defense/.

(11)   Nathalie Lazaric et al, Changes in the French Defence Innovation System: New Roles and Capabilities for the Government Agency for Defence …

(12)   Project Scorpion, Wikipedia, Accessed 18 Aug 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Scorpion.

(13)   Scorpion Battle Lab, CDEC, Accessed 17 Aug 2020, https://www.c-dec.terre.defense.gouv.fr/images/multimedia/photo/publications/US/20190403_NP_CDEC_plaquette-us-web-.pdf.

(14)   Valérie Merindol and David Versailles, The (R)Evolution of Defence Innovation Models, July 2020, ARES Policy Paper, Accessed 18 Aug 2020, https://www.iris-france.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ARES-60.pdf.