PARIS — MBDA, Europe’s largest missile maker, appointed Airbus Defence and Space executive Jean-Brice Dumont as its new chief executive officer effective Nov. 1 to succeed Eric Béranger, who has led the maker of the Meteor air-to-air missile and Aster air-defense missile since June 2019.
The executives will start a handover process in October to ensure “a seamless transition,” MBDA said on Wednesday. The company didn’t provide a reason for the departure of Béranger, who has overseen seven years of transition during which MBDA nearly doubled its sales to €5.8 billion (US$6.6 billion) in 2025 and more than doubled its order book to a record €44.4 billion.
Dumont already sits on the MBDA supervisory board as a representative for Airbus, which owns 37.5% of the missile maker alongside BAE Systems with an equal stake and Leonardo with 25%. At Airbus Defence and Space, he has been head of air power since January 2024, and before that was head of military air systems from July 2021.
Dumont “will continue MBDA’s transformation journey and build on MBDA’s unique model to meet the challenges ahead,” the company said.
European governments including France have been pushing MBDA to accelerate a ramp-up in missile production, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea highlighted Europe’s limited missile stockpiles and production capacity. Béranger said in March the company would increase investments for 2026-2030 to €6 billion from a planned €2.5 billion for the 2025-2029 period.
“I am honored to join MBDA at a moment where the group stands at the center of the defense of Europe and its allies,” Dumont said in the statement. “I would like to warmly thank Eric for handing over a group that has been deeply transformed, a group stronger and ready for the challenges ahead.”
MBDA says it already doubled missile production between 2023 and the end of 2025, and Béranger said in March overall missile output will rise 40% this year, a “very significant increase.” The company’s products include the Aster interceptors used in the SAMP/T air-defense systems, the Meteor missile, the Scalp/Storm Shadow cruise missile and the Exocet anti-ship weapon.
“When I joined in 2019, none of us could have imagined what we would be faced with,” Béranger said in the statement. “We stepped up to every challenge and MBDA is now more essential than ever to global peace and security.”
The company said Dumont brings extensive international experience in aerospace and defense after serving in various Airbus executive committees for more than 14 years.
He joined Eurocopter, the predecessor to Airbus Helicopters, in 2004 as an engineer on the NH90 program, followed by various executive roles in the Airbus helicopter and commercial aircraft businesses.
Dumont is a licensed French Army aviation pilot, and started his career at the Directorate General for Armament in 1996, working on the Tiger and Super Puma helicpter programs. He is a graduate of France’s elite École Polytechnique and of the ISEA-SUPAERO aerospace-engineering school.
MBDA is frequently cited by policymakers and industry analyst as an example of successful European defense cooperation. The company’s multinational structure allows France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom to share costs, expertise and industrial capacity, while also allowing the countries to preserve sovereign capabilities in MBDA’s local units.
Under Béranger, the company has “reshaped its portfolio to provide European armed forces and their allies with sovereign solutions, adapted to today and tomorrow’s threats,” MBDA said.
MBDA Chairman Simon Barnes said the board wishes Béranger “a promising new chapter,” while also wishing Dumont “full success in his new position.”
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.