By A Correspondent

Paris: European defence firms Dassault Aviation and Thales have announced a major strategic partnership to develop controlled and supervised artificial intelligence for future defence aviation systems, marking a significant step in Europe’s push for sovereign military AI capabilities.

The agreement, signed on November 18, 2025, by Dassault chief executive officer Eric Trappier and Thales chief executive officer Patrice Caine, was unveiled on November 25 at the International Adopt AI Summit in Paris, according to an official statement on November 26.

The collaboration brings together Dassault Aviation, designer of advanced combat aircraft such as the Rafale and a key architect of Europe’s future air combat systems, and cortAIx, Thales’ global AI accelerator.

The two companies will jointly develop mission-critical AI designed for manned and unmanned military aircraft, supporting functions such as surveillance, threat analysis, decision-support, planning and real-time operational control.

The effort is positioned as a cornerstone of Europe’s drive to maintain technological sovereignty amid rapid advances in defence AI worldwide.

Both companies emphasised that the solutions being developed will strictly follow national and EU ethical frameworks, including emerging regulations under the EU AI Act.

Dassault Aviation chief technical officer Pascale Lohat said the partnership crowns years of strategic discussions and will feed directly into research programmes shaping “the collaborative air combat of the future.”

Integrating trustworthy AI into next-generation systems, including manned-unmanned teaming, is expected to be a critical requirement for European forces.

Thales’s cortAIx unit will contribute decades of combat-proven expertise, supported by innovation hubs in France, the UK, Canada, Singapore and soon the UAE.

According to cortAIx Factory vice president Mickael Brossard, the initiative aims to transform cutting-edge AI research into real operational advantages for armed forces.

The partnership was showcased at the Adopt AI Summit through immersive demonstrations funded by the European Defence Fund, highlighting a long-term roadmap for secure, sovereign, and supervised military AI built on a trusted industrial ecosystem.

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