Graphic: Airbus Defence and Space
The French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has awarded Airbus Defence and Space a framework contract worth up to €50 million to integrate artificial intelligence into a range of defence systems used by the French armed forces. The agreement covers information, communication, cybersecurity and weapons systems delivered by Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Helicopters.
The contract will be carried out in cooperation with the Ministerial Agency for Defence AI (AMIAD), established in May 2024 to strengthen national control over defence-related AI technologies. According to the DGA, the initiative supports France’s wider strategy to ensure technological sovereignty and expand the operational use of AI across military missions.
The first phase will focus on enhancing Spationav, France’s maritime surveillance system, by adding AI capabilities to automate the merging of satellite data and Spationav inputs. Additional applications will be explored in intelligence, cybersecurity and network management, including real-time assistance for optimising military telecommunications networks.
With growing volumes of data generated by satellites, radars, drones, smartphones and social media, the DGA notes that AI is required to process information quickly and at scale. The initiative aims both to reduce the workload on personnel and to enable tasks that cannot be performed manually due to time constraints or data volume. The programme also highlights the need for suitable infrastructure to store and organise the data supporting future AI systems.
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