Numerous sector-specific studies have shown that over the past 20 years different parts of the French state have changed their relationship to national industry and the European Union. However, the defence sector has been both under-studied and the victim of an assumption of ‘military exceptionalism’. Based upon empirical research into the ordering of the Airbus A400M military transporter, this article uses a cognitive approach to policy analysis to unpack the sets of actors and distribution of power which today make French procurement decisions. It shows that many policy preferences have changed considerably but that the key protagonists have remained remarkably stable.