Dassault Aviation and Thales have entered a long-term strategic partnership to develop “controlled and supervised” artificial intelligence (AI) for future air combat applications, the two companies announced on November 25, 2025.
The agreement was signed on November 18, 2025, by Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier and Thales CEO Patrice Caine, and unveiled at the International Adopt AI Summit at the Grand Palais in Paris.
Crewed-uncrewed teaming at the core of the program
The partnership brings together Dassault Aviation, France’s prime contractor for collaborative air combat systems, and cortAIx, Thales’ AI accelerator, to build sovereign AI capabilities for manned and unmanned military aircraft.
The work will cover mission-critical functions such as observation, situation analysis, decision-making support, planning, and control of air operations.
Dassault Aviation said the initiative is part of a broader research and innovation effort dedicated to the future of collaborative air combat, in which crewed fighters and uncrewed systems operate as a unified, tightly networked force.
“This partnership translates into research and innovation programs dedicated to the collaborative air combat of the future, with a view to integrating AI into aeronautical defense systems,” said Pascale Lohat, Chief Technical Officer, Dassault Aviation.
Thales framed cortAIx as a bridge between its long-standing technological expertise for the armed forces and the agility of a dedicated innovation accelerator. Mickael Brossard, Vice President of cortAIx Factory, noted that the accelerator now operates in France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Singapore, with an expansion planned in the United Arab Emirates.
Both companies highlighted that their work on AI assurance and supervision will be carried out in line with ethical principles and national and European regulations, including the EU’s emerging AI framework.
Dassault and Thales presented the partnership to attendees of the Adopt AI Summit as an illustration of the scale and ambition of ongoing research and innovation programs supported by the European Defence Fund. The two companies described their joint strategy as a commitment to sovereign, secure, and trustworthy AI “at the service of humanity.”
Shaping the digital backbone of Europe’s future air combat
The Dassault-Thales agreement comes as Europe accelerates its shift toward AI-enabled, collaborative air-combat architectures. Across the continent, programs are already moving in that direction.
Helsing is advancing its CA-1 Europa autonomous jet as a mass-produced European UCAV, while integrating AI into Germany’s upcoming electronic-warfare variant of the Eurofighter Typhoon.
With the French-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) strained by a major industrial and political roadblock around the development of a new fighter jet (NGF), the prospect of deploying AI-enabled loyal wingmen alongside current Rafale and Eurofighter fleets is emerging as a more achievable step toward Europe’s future air-combat architecture.
At the same time, US manufacturers are gaining ground in Europe by opening their Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) developments to allied air forces.
GA-ASI is adapting its YFQ-42A for Europe with final assembly planned in Germany, while Airbus and Kratos are proposing a “Europeanized” XQ-58A Valkyrie variant for the German Air Force by 2029. In October 2025, the Netherlands formally joined the US-led collaborative combat aircraft effort.
