00:00Hello and welcome today to Euro Satori, where we're being hosted at the DCSD booth.
00:04What is the DCSD?
00:05The DCSD?
00:06It's the Directorate of Cooperation, which is under the authority of the Ministry for
00:10Europe and Foreign Affairs.
00:12Well, it's David Juber.
00:13A few years ago, we made a short introduction video about Kepler, the Kepler project.
00:18We use regional transport planes, the ATR-72s, which are highly regarded, extremely efficient,
00:23very cost effective, meaning their cost efficiency is excellent.
00:26And we convert them into water bombers, which are the aircraft that operate from land bases
00:32and come back to reload, a bit like the Q400s we have today.
00:35Yeah.
00:36We're going to buy some.
00:37It's the new generation Dash 8 Q400.
00:39Last time we were just starting the adventure.
00:42We're sticking to the schedule we made two years ago.
00:45We're doing successive fundraising rounds, we're working on design.
00:50So far, everything is going perfectly well.
00:52We're meeting the various mandatory milestones to validate all the stages of design and certification.
01:00We have close relationships with the ASOL, the Air Safety Authority, and everything is
01:06going perfectly.
01:09We have an industrial ecosystem where we know who does what and who designs what, on what
01:13timeline and everything is currently on track.
01:15It's on track.
01:17Yeah.
01:17Yeah.
01:17It's not easy.
01:18It's pretty rare.
01:19It's rare enough to point out.
01:20Actually, our partners Aerotech and Concept handle the design and certification.
01:25ACIA and IPRC are in charge of the cargo part of our plane.
01:28As you may remember, our plane is multi-role.
01:31Trotter Control is making the drop system for us.
01:34And of course, the Institut de Mécanique des Frites helps optimize the whole system so we
01:39have the most efficient drop system possible.
01:42The most efficient in the world.
01:43The idea isn't just to bring a lot of water, it's to bring retardant and water and drop
01:48them as efficiently as possible on the fire.
01:51The recent news is that now there's a plane that's going to be converted.
01:55So what's this magic trick?
01:57Did we buy a plane?
01:58So…
01:58We didn't buy a plane.
01:59We found a plane owner who believes in the project.
02:02Someone who's lending us a plane.
02:04This plane, we're going to modify it.
02:06We're going to make holes in it.
02:07We're going to reinforce it.
02:08We're going to turn it into Kepler 72.
02:11And that's going to allow us to do the first flight tests and the first drops at
02:15the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027.
02:19So we're still on track for certification next year, right?
02:22We're still on that schedule and our goal is to do a drop at the Paris air show.
02:27We're setting ourselves a pretty ambitious target, but we're going to make it.
02:32There were also quite a few parliamentary reports saying that the project needed to be supported.
02:37There are letters of interest or intent.
02:38I'm not sure what they're called.
02:40There are still letters of interest, yes.
02:43Exactly.
02:43Because at this stage, as long as we don't have certification, letters of intent are a
02:47bit harder to get.
02:48But we have letters of interest for 18 planes worldwide, plus one letter of interest that's
02:53fundamental.
02:54The one from the General Directorate of Civil Security, which has been effectively supporting
02:59the project since 2024.
03:00And since last year, the big news is that the state and the Occitanie region have granted
03:05us a subsidy of 5 million euros.
03:08It's considerable and significant enough to make a real difference in our journey.
03:13Excellent.
03:14So, today you mentioned development from an industrial point of view, but what about fundraising
03:18and interest?
03:19Are there other countries besides France that are also looking to acquire it?
03:23We have potential clients abroad.
03:25Indeed, we have a very active development department.
03:28Our development director is going to Asia for a month, for example, where he will visit
03:33about 10 countries.
03:35And he will be at the aerial firefighting event in Australia in July.
03:40We are present at all the trade shows, so we have the opportunity to actually meet foreign
03:45delegations.
03:47We have already raised a little over 12 million euros since the beginning.
03:50We are in an interim international fundraising round where we will raise 5 million more in
03:55July.
03:55We will officially announce them when they are signed.
03:59We are currently in the middle of a fundraising round.
04:02However, what's important is that we wanted to involve everyone.
04:06We wanted to allow everyone to participate in the project.
04:09And the right way to do that is to go to a crowdfunding platform.
04:13We chose the SoWeFun platform.
04:16And this platform allows us to offer everyone the opportunity to become a shareholder of Kepler
04:23through a fundraising campaign that you can check out on our website.
04:27As mentioned in previous videos, we were invited to participate, and I did so as well.
04:32Since this company keeps running, progressing and growing, there is already a modest multiple
04:36for those who had the foresight to invest earlier.
04:41Right now, if you invest, talking about valuation like that is a bit complicated.
04:47If you invest, our goal is to quadruple the money you entrust to us.
04:52There you go.
04:53So, of course, it's still an industrial venture.
04:55So, we're not talking about a tax-advantaged stock savings plan or a savings account.
04:59It's an adventure, but you can take part, give us the means to go even further.
05:04And you'll also be kept informed, thanks to Xavier maybe, and also through other means.
05:09Yes, the project.
05:11You'll be informed.
05:12Informed about the progress.
05:13So, I also want to say why I'm involved.
05:16I'm officially on the advisory council now.
05:18There's an advisory council with some very big names in the industry.
05:22Robert LaFontaine, for example, the former chief engineer of the Airbus Group
05:26and one of the fathers of the A380.
05:27Eric Delsall, who was a test pilot and chief pilot at ATR for 17 years here.
05:33I know a little.
05:34Firefighters, field specialists, Christophe de Vray,
05:37who even joined us as an employee and development director.
05:40There's Jean-Baptiste Ghibari, the former minister of transport,
05:44with whom I had already created Kepler in 2012, who joined us in this advisory committee.
05:49Philippe Rigaud, Thomas Krasinski, in short, only big names in their fields,
05:55who not only help us avoid mistakes, give us access to their networks,
06:00and also give us the courage to keep going until the end.
06:04And we even got a little hello from a big name who goes a bit beyond the atmosphere at our
06:08last event,
06:09Thomas Pesquet, the astronaut.
06:10He was kind enough to say a word of support and to encourage the people who were present at our
06:17anniversary evening in Toulouse.
06:20I was in Ukraine and couldn't attend, but my thoughts were there.
06:23About next steps, you mentioned certification, but certifying a civil aircraft isn't the same as certifying a water bomber.
06:29No, certification at the ESA level is to say that the aircraft can fly and that it is capable of
06:34carrying out its mission safely,
06:36just like we do for a passenger plane or even a military aircraft.
06:40So we follow the manufacturer's certification.
06:43Along with that, there's the wildfire qualification required to join firefighters in fighting fires.
06:49You mentioned the manufacturer.
06:50So the manufacturer agrees to let us do this kind of thing? They have to agree, yeah.
06:54Last year, at least at the Paris Air Show, ATR showed us their support and regularly works with us,
07:02especially with some pretty advanced commercial collaborations.
07:08And besides that, we also have to certify the aircraft for firefighting and to be able to go fight fires.
07:14And that's CEREN, which is Entente Valambre in the south of Switzerland,
07:18in the southeast of France, which organizes these full-scale tests.
07:22So we do a drop over an area where we have rain gauges installed and we measure the effectiveness.
07:28So we plan to launch a campaign next year to qualify our aircraft.
07:33And so that the whole world can witness the effectiveness of this drop.
07:38Which will allow us to do either blast effect drops, similar to what the Canadair does for example,
07:43or constant flow drops.
07:45To lay down lines of retardant that slow the spread of the fire
07:49and allow firefighters to do their work in a somewhat protected environment.
07:54Everything that is multi-mission, meaning cargo, medical transport and possibly people.
07:59Well, that's optimization, making better use of the aircraft. An airplane is expensive.
08:03If you only use it four months a year, well, it's extremely difficult to make it profitable.
08:09So talking about profitability and civil protection might seem strange, but budgets aren't unlimited.
08:15And so our plane is capable of transporting cargo, medical evacuation,
08:19both during fire season with certain restrictions due to the onboard system or outside of fire season.
08:26We remove all the firefighting equipment and we turn the plane into a cargo or medical evacuation aircraft,
08:32and even troop transport in certain circumstances.
08:35I noticed they're now adding small sensors under the plane.
08:38Yes, the electro-optical sensors that are all around us, everywhere here in the Rosatory Lounge.
08:45These electro-optical sensors can detect fire outbreaks up to 100 kilometers away.
08:50There were tests done last year, actually, with Valambre and Saffron, I think, at the time.
08:55So these balls actually allow for wide-range visibility and detection.
09:00And since the plane can fly quite economically, with its load of retardant or extinguishing liquid,
09:07the pilot can go directly to a fire outbreak identified from relatively far away,
09:13sometimes even farther than what his eyes could detect.
09:16And let's clarify that afterwards, we can go to any airfield to refill,
09:19as long as there are firefighters at an airport, which is the case at all airports.
09:23They put water in the tank.
09:24We don't need a dedicated airport.
09:26So many locations work, even in desert countries, since helicopters are great,
09:31but they still require nearby water sources.
09:33And to be able to use a helicopter, the water source needs to be clean,
09:37without any objects or human activity using it.
09:41There shouldn't be too much wind in certain situations,
09:44so taking off from a runway is much simpler and much safer.
09:48And actually, any fire truck is able to fill our plane, so we don't need a...
09:52Of this extra equipment.
09:53That's it of an installation.
09:55It's definitely better when it exists.
09:57In France, it's called a pelicandrome.
09:59There are a certain number that are installed, but you can also turn any land into a temporary pelicandrome,
10:05because the fire, it's going to reach areas where we didn't expect the fire.
10:10Unfortunately, there's another sensor that I saw come in.
10:13It was the IMC catcher.
10:14What do we do with that?
10:15When it's authorized and well controlled, it allows you to detect all the cell phones in the area,
10:22all the SIM cards that are being used.
10:24The idea is to avoid dropping it on someone who might be in the area.
10:28Or not to drop it so low, so that maybe you can protect them and create a cooling cloud that
10:34could save their life.
10:36Excellent. Yeah, David, that's great.
10:38Well, listen, we're very happy to have you on this adventure, and keep going.
10:42Well, let's just clarify that you're just a humble airline pilot who knows a bit about aeronautics, too. Thank you.
10:47Let's say I've been flying airliners for 30 years, and I've been involved in aerial firefighting for 16 years.
10:53So it's true that these are two fields that are particularly close to my heart.
10:57A dream team. Thank you, David.
10:59Thank you, too.
11:00We hope you enjoyed it. See you soon. Links are in the video comments.
11:03Thank you all. See you.
Comments