France picks Airbus and Thales to deliver future digital battlefield solutions
Ten-year project will see development of new joint tactical SIGINT system.
Defence procurement agency DGA has awarded Airbus and Thales ten-year contract for a new joint tactical SIGINT system for all branches of the French Armed Forces, combining critical signals monitoring, direction finding and spectrum analysis capabilities.
The French MoD is giving the new programme the same status as the Contact tactical radio and Scorpion vehicle procurement initiatives.
Airbus and Thales will once again combine their respective experience on strategic ELINT and SIGINT projects to equip the French army, navy and air force with a common information system and enhanced tactical electronic support measures, while also upgrading the EW capabilities of frontline units.
‘All three armed forces will rely on the same logistics infrastructure to simplify training of specialist operators and optimise through-life support delivery,’ Airbus noted in an 11 February announcement.
It added: ‘The new system to monitor and localise enemy communications will support tactical manoeuvres in the theatre of operations.’
Airbus and Thales will develop an initial signals monitoring capability, with subsequent optional tranches to significantly increase the number of units in service. New functions will be added incrementally over the term of the contract.
Tactical SIGINT systems will equip electronic support vehicles used by the 54th Signals Regiment of the French Army, French Navy combat vessels and the Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft. They could also be deployed to protect air bases on military operations overseas, Airbus noted.
As part of our promise to deliver comprehensive coverage to our Defence Insight and Premium News subscribers, our curated defence news content provides the latest industry updates, contract awards and programme milestones.
You may also like
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![AUSA 2025: Persistent Systems to complete its largest order by year’s end]()
AUSA 2025: Persistent Systems to complete its largest order by year’s end
Persistent Systems received its largest ever single order for its MPU5 devices and other systems earlier this month and has already delivered the 50 units to the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division.
-
![Aselsan brings in dozens of companies and systems under the Steel Dome umbrella]()
Aselsan brings in dozens of companies and systems under the Steel Dome umbrella
Turkey has joined the family of countries attempting to establish a multilayered air defence system with government approval in August 2024 for the effort landed by Aselsan. Dubbed Steel Dome, the programme joins Israel’s Iron Dome, the US Golden Dome, India’s Mission Sudarshan Chakra and South Korea’s low-altitude missile defence system.
-
![DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system]()
DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system
MARSS’ NiDAR system has been deployed using sensors from static platforms to provide detection and protection for static sights, such as critical infrastructure, ports and military bases.
-
![Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training]()
Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
-
![EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI]()
EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI
The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.
-
![Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker]()
Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker
The Vision4ce Deep Embedded Feature Tracking (DEFT) technology software is designed to process video and images by blending traditional computer vision with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to present actionable information from complex environments.
