Article written by Aude Leroy in Daily du Bourget: link to article
Detecting innovative European technological nuggets and offering them to French Forces, by manufacturing them on French soil, is the objective of Aix-based SME DSV. With a view to saving time, money and efficiency in the field.
His father specialised in the distribution of innovative technologies for the construction industry, and his son is taking the idea and applying it to defence. And more specifically ‘DSV is proposing a disruptive but simple approach: capture the best European technologies and distribute them in France’,explains Eric de Trétaigne, Managing Director of DSV. Since May 2024, the Aix-en-Provence-based SME has already signed contracts with a dozen companies in Switzerland, Latvia, Denmark and Holland.
But the young boss doesn't stop there: these innovations are unique, ITAR free, ‘already proven by at least 200 units delivered - some are on the Ukrainian front, and they are adapted for the French military market’.They are ‘customised’, in other words they are adapted to the needs of their users: adding a camera, lidar, radio, etc. DSV starts from the operational need: "It's in our DNA. We are at the service of the forces and in the “bottom-up” state of mind. The systems we find are tested by the users, generally the most agile. If they tell us there's an interest, we start looking".This avoids wasting money and time on prototypes that will never find a buyer.
The partnership between DSV and the European companies involves the transfer of some of their technologies for manufacture, militarisation and assembly on French soil. Faced with a totally closed French market, the companies see this as in their interest: to be able to move on to larger-scale production. All the more so, notes Eric de Trétaigne, since these drones are consistently at least four times cheaper than the French ones.".
A drone leasing system
The Swiss Fotokite drone, some of which has already been sold by DSV, costs four times less than the most credible global competitors. Easy to use, this tethered drone can make automatic rounds from the boot of a vehicle, without anyone having to leave the vehicle. It rises to a height of 45 metres and can “see” rolling stock or personnel up to 5 km away in real time, even at night. Highly resistant to wind, it can also be used as a relay antenna for transmissions.
The latest addition to the range from Latvian company Atlas, the AtlasMICRO is in fact a nanodrone. It weighs 495 grams and flies at 61 km/h for 35 minutes, up to a distance of almost 10 km. Eric de Trétaigne explains: "Everything about this little 100% European machine is home-made, including the camera (which is not of Asian origin), the radio relay and the flight control (compatible with all the other drones in the range). Every 15 seconds, its scan scans the frequencies, making it difficult to detect".It can be deployed in just three minutes and slipped into a rucksack.
DSV's Managing Director has come up with a drone leasing system that will enable the armed forces to benefit from the latest technology. If the military testers have been won over, the politicians and the DGA still need to be convinced of the effectiveness of the procedure and of drones “made in France”.