The defence industries in France and elsewhere have, in recent years, undergone important technological, organizational and institutional changes that have profoundly altered their architectures. These changes have introduced a new division of labour bringing new opportunities for interaction...

--new competencies from industrial groups. This article analyses these evolutions and focuses particular attention on the new organizational arrangements that have accompanied them. The case of Thales, which in 2005 outsourced much of the management of their intellectual property, is...