Sofema (Société française d’exportation de matériel militaire et aéronautique) is a French company which specialises today in the renovation, marketing and maintenance of first generation land, sea and air equipment, mainly from material sourced from the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

. The company is headquartered in Levallois, near Paris. Technical facilities are situated in La Teste (

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

in the south west of France) and

Châteauroux Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Châteauroux te ...

(

Indre Indre (); is a department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administrative region of Cent ...

). Sofema was used by Indian lobbyist Niira Radia and Singh for routing their money which they earned as commission in the deal with Sahara Airlines to negotiate the purchase of helicopters from

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trade name, trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturer, helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopte ...

History

Sofema was created in 1997 from the merger of two utility companies (Ofema and Sofma), responsible for supporting and guiding the foreign sales of large French aeronautic and defence groups. Its first President (until 2001) was the

Préfet A prefect (, plural , both ) in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Regional prefects are ''ex officio'' the departmental prefects of the regional prefecture. Prefects are tasked with upholding the law in the departme ...

Ivan Barbot (former president of Ofema) who oversaw the privatisation of the company in 1998 around a core group of important shareholders including

EADS Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Airbus has long been th ...

Safran Safran S.A. () is a French Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace, defence industry, defence and computer security, security corporation headquartered in Paris. It designs, develops and manufactures both commercial and military airc ...

(born from the merger of

Snecma Safran Aircraft Engines, previously Snecma (''Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation'') or Snecma Moteurs, is a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered in Courcouronnes and a subsidiary of Safran. It d ...

and

SAGEM SAGEM (, translated as "Company of General Applications of Electricity and Mechanics") was a French company involved in defense electronics, consumer electronics, and communication systems. Founded in 1924, SAGEM initially specialised in mechani ...

), DCNS,

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

NEXTER SYSTEMS KNDS France (formerly known as Nexter, GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French Government-owned corporation, government-owned arms industry, weapons manufacturer, based in Versaill ...

(formerly GIAT),

Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (Marcel Bloch Aircraft Company). After ...

(represent by Eric Trappier),

Renault Trucks Renault Trucks was a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it was a subsidiary of Volvo since 2001. In July 2024, John Cockerill (company) completed the takeover ...

(Volvo Group). Appointed CEO and chairman in 2001, General (CR) Bernard Norlain embarked on a policy of diversification in response to a gradual erosion of its core business – due, particularly, to the establishment of sales teams within its holding. In 2007, under the leadership of its new chairman and CEO, Guillaume Giscard d'Estaing, Sofema underwent a profound shift in its business. In effect, the company passed in just a few years from playing a role as intermediary in large French export contracts, to selling renovated land, air and sea equipment. Products include the VBC-90 internal security vehicle,

Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé The or VAB (literally meaning "Armoured Forward Vehicle"; but more appropriately translated: "Armoured Vanguard Vehicle") is a French armoured personnel carrier and support vehicle designed and manufactured by ''Renault Trucks Defense'' (now kno ...

APC, and

Aérospatiale Alouette III The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by France, French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a popular ro ...

helicopter, in addition to the AML and Eland series of light armoured cars.

Sofema operations

Renovation

Depending on the needs of its customers, Sofema acquires first generation equipment, mainly of French origin, and overhauls this to a pristine state in its workshops, or through its specialised partners. Contracts include significant support to implementation and training to buyer-countries, equal to the services provided by major industry in exports of new equipment.

Trading

Complementary to its renovation activities, Sofema offers

spare part A spare part, spare, service part, repair part, or replacement part, is an interchangeable part that is kept in an inventory and used for the repair or Refurbishment (electronics), refurbishment of defective equipment/units. Spare parts are an i ...

Advisory

Sofema's International Advisory department aims to assist industry groups around the world in their international development. It offers combined audit financing, commercial representation, services across five continents in the areas of defence and security, aerospace, energy, transport infrastructure and the environment.

References

{{reflist Defence companies of France Companies based in Île-de-France