MBDA to replace CEO with Airbus executive

MILAN — The multinational European missile manufacturer MBDA has announced plans to replace CEO Éric Béranger with an Airbus executive, as part of a major leadership shake-up.

After seven years at the head of MBDA, Béranger will be replaced by Jean-Brice Dumont, the current head of Military Air Systems and Air Power at Airbus Defense and Space. The transition will go into effect Nov. 1.

“Dumont will continue MBDA’s transformation journey and build on the company’s unique model to meet the challenges ahead,” the company said in a press release. 

The European defense giant declined to say where Béranger will go next. During his time at MBDA, he oversaw the firm’s major industrial ramp-up. Between 2023 and 2025, missile production doubled, with an additional 40 percent increase in manufacturing planned for this year alone.

The company recorded €5.8 billion ($6.62 billion) in revenue last year and an order intake of €13.2 billion, largely thanks to the completion of major contracts with several European and international partners.

Key deals under Béranger included a contract to supply additional Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles for the German Armed Forces and a milestone agreement with France for the development of DELUGE, a sovereign long-range system to saturate enemy defenses. Beyond Europe, MBDA also signed a codevelopment contract in June with the UAE’s Fly-R to develop and mass-produce a new diamond-shaped loitering munition. 

The company has also been an avid supporter of Ukraine since the launch of Russia’s invasion in 2022, ramping up deliveries primarily of precision-guided air-to-ground and long-range cruise missiles to the war-torn country.