The Délégation générale pour l’armement, in English the “General Delegation for Ordnance”, or DGA, is the French government agency that conducts development and evaluation programs for weapon systems for the French military. [1]
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Armament programs coordination
The DGA coordinates the armament programs with industry in France, within Europe, but also with customers for export. With the service of Europe of defence, the DGA supports the emergence of armament programmes in co-operation and contributes to the development of the European Agency of defence. Fifteen cooperative armament programmes are under way. The OCCAr (Joint Organisation of Co-operation as regards Armament) ensures the control of six programmes intended to equip the French force inter alia : combat Tiger helicopter, ground-to-air missiles short Roland/Frole range, Cobra counter-battery radar, family of ground-to-air systems future (FSAF), A400M military transport aircraft, PAAMS anti-aircraft system.
Other activities
Testing and expertise
The DGA also undertakes the testing and evaluation of materials and military technologies. Thus, spread around France, are test centres carrying out tests in advanced technologies, in aeronautics and missiles (the flight test centre bases of Istres, Bretigny, Cazaux and Toulouse, Centre of Tests of Launching of Missiles Biscarosse site, island of raising and Gâvres, and the centre of expertise LRBA in Vernon), electronics, data processing and information system security (CELAr in Rennes, and CTSN in Toulon). These services contribute to the validation of industrial materials, but also to the proving of military systems for the programme directorates. DGA was reorganised in 2004 to improve the coherence of its activities in the control of its programmes (subdirectorate of coordination of program) that in the technical approach inter-systems (Service of architecture inter-systems) that in the technological developments (responsible for poles).
Engineering schools
In addition, DGA supervises engineering schools that operate under the supervision of the Ministry of defence (École Polytechnique, ENSTA, SUPAERO, ENSIETA, ENSICA). The high-level military staff of DGA, the ingénieurs de l’armement (IA, literally, “Weaponry Engineers”), are commissioned officers, who are generally graduates of the École polytechnique, then the ENSTA or SUPAERO. The main part of the engineers, the ingénieurs des études et techniques d'armement (IETA, literally, "weaponry studies and technics engineers") are graduates of the ENSIETA.
The DGA also formerly had a division for building warships, the Direction des constructions navales (“Directorate of Naval Construction”), now formed into a partly state-owned corporation, DCNS.
Notes and References
- ^ (Nuclear warheads and nuclear submarine power plants are designed by the division of military applications of the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA)).
See also
- AGATE, the architecture framework promoted by the DGA
External links
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