Jean-Brice Dumont took over as chief executive of MBDA on 1 November, succeeding Eric Béranger, who led the European defence group from 2019. The appointment, confirmed by MBDA on 2 November, places an Airbus Defence and Space executive at the head of a company expanding its production capacity and workforce amid rising demand for defence equipment in Europe.
Dumont spent 14 years in executive roles at Airbus, including at Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Commercial. From 2021 to 2026, he led Military Air Systems and Air Power at Airbus Defence and Space, based in Spain. His portfolio included the A400M, Eurofighter, A330 MRTT and C295 programmes. MBDA announced the succession in July, with a handover scheduled to begin in October.
During Béranger’s tenure, MBDA’s revenue rose from about €3 billion to nearly €6 billion, its workforce grew from 12,000 to 22,000, and its order book expanded from €18 billion to €44 billion, according to the company. MBDA also reported that production doubled between 2023 and 2025. The group’s 2025 revenue was €5.8 billion, with a year-end backlog of €44.4 billion.