Sofema (Société française d’exportation de matériel militaire et aéronautique) is a

French company French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

which specializes 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 (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the French Army, Army, the French Navy, Navy, the French Air and Space Force, Air and Space Force and the National Gendarmerie, Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The Preside ...

. The company is headquartered in Levallois, near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. Technical facilities are situated in

La Teste LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

(

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

- in the south west of France) and

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) 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 Ch ...

(

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked 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 administ ...

). Sofema was used by Indian lobbyist

Niira Radia Niira Radia is a former corporate lobbyist whose taped telephone conversations implicated her influence in the allocation of key ministries in the Government of India in 2009. Discussion of the tapes resulted in the " Radia tapes controversy", w ...

and Singh for routing their money which they earned as commission in the deal with

Sahara Airlines JetLite was a low-cost subsidiary of Jet Airways. It was formerly known as ''Air Sahara'' until the buyout by Jet Airways which rebranded the airline as JetLite. On April 17, 2019, JetLite grounded all of its flights and ceased all operation ...

to negotiate the purchase of helicopters from

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence A ...

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 (french: préfet, plural ''préfets'') in France is the state's representative in a department or region. Subprefects (French: ''sous-préfets'') are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, known as arrondissements. The office ...

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

EADS Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

Safran Safran S.A. is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment or their components. It was formed by a merger between SNECMA an ...

(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 ...

and Sagem),

DCNS DCNS may refer to: * Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Australia) * Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (India) * Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (Pakistan) * Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (United Kingdom), Royal Navy * Naval Group Naval Group is a ma ...

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard ...

NEXTER SYSTEMS Nexter Systems (formerly known as GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, based in Roanne, Loire. Group organization The Nexter group is ...

(formerly GIAT),

Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marcel Bloch changed his name to Marcel D ...

(represent by

Eric Trappier The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ai ...

Renault Trucks Renault Trucks is a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been a subsidiary of the Volvo Group since 2001. From its beginnings in 1978 to 2002, the comp ...

(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 Born in 1958, Guillaume Giscard d'Estaing has been chairman and CEO of Sofema since 2007. Career After an initial career as a naval officer and helicopter pilot, Guillaume Giscard d'Estaing entered Turbomeca (Snecma group) based in Pau, Pyrén ...

, 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 The Renault VBC-90 (''Véhicule Blindé de Combat'', or "Armoured Combat Vehicle") is a six-wheeled French armoured car carrying a 90mm high-velocity gun mated to a sophisticated fire control computer and ranging system. It was developed primari ...

internal security vehicle,

Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé 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 ...

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 French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a relatively popular ...

helicopter, in addition to the AML and

Eland Eland may refer to: Animals *''Taurotragus'', a genus of antelope ** Common eland of East and Southern Africa ** Giant eland of Central and Western Africa Places * Eland, Wisconsin, United States * An old spelling of Elland, West Yorkshire * Ela ...

series of light armoured cars.Commerce d'armement triangulaire Belgique-France-Tchad

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 specialized 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 of defective equipment/units. Spare parts are an important feature of logist ...

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.{{cn, date=February 2021

References

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