For MBDA, 2015 was a year of record orders—€5.2bn—thanks mainly to the Rafale and FREMM contracts signed by Egypt and Qatar. New export orders reached the exceptional level of €3.6bn, substantially outstripping new domestic orders for the fourth year in a row. Revenue picked up significantly in 2015, at €2.9bn, after reaching a low point of €2.4bn in 2014 which was a result of the pressure on European defence budgets.

With a “book-to-bill” ratio well above 1 for the third year running, MBDA has reinforced its order book, which totalled €15.1bn as of 31 December 2015—enough to keep the company busy for five years—and is now looking forward to solid growth prospects until the end of the decade. Consequently, a major recruitment plan is under way to cope with the increase in business. In 2016, the group plans to hire a thousand people, mainly in France and the UK.