Airbus’s AI contract with the French military
By Carlotta Kozlowskyj | 22 December 2025
Summary
Airbus was awarded a €50M contract to integrate artificial intelligence into the French armed forces’ weapons, information, communication and cybersecurity systems.
France aims to address the sovereignty challenges posed by the use of AI in military operations and rely on AI systems for threat-assessments.
It is very likely that European states will increasingly invest and rely on AI for military systems, particularly for surveillance and intelligence collection.
Context
On 10 December 2025, the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) announced that it had awarded Airbus Defence and Space a contract worth up to €50M to integrate AI into systems used by the French armed forces. This multiyear agreement forms part of France’s ministerial strategy on AI for defence and is being implemented in collaboration with the Ministerial Agency for Defence AI (AMIAD), established in May 2024 to ensure France’s technological sovereignty and strategic autonomy in AI. The €50M contract aims to reinforce the French military’s weapons, communications, information, and cybersecurity systems while reducing reliance on non-French, non-European AI technologies. This investment also responds to the rapidly growing volume of data generated by intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms, which are increasingly exceeding human processing capacity.
The first phase of this contract focuses on integrating AI into France’s maritime surveillance system, Spationav. This upgrade will merge real-time surveillance data from satellite sources and terrestrial sensors, significantly improving situational awareness for maritime security missions. Once operational, Spationav is expected to become one of the most comprehensive naval surveillance systems in Europe. In a second phase, AI capabilities are expected to be extended to intelligence analysis, cybersecurity resilience, and the optimisation of telecommunication networks. These AI systems are designed to automate routine analytical tasks, enabling human operators to concentrate on high-priority decision-making.
Implications
This contract reflects France's broader effort to achieve technological sovereignty in defence AI, as AI is increasingly becoming a component of national power comparable to cyberspace, where foreign dependency can create strategic vulnerabilities. By working with AMIAD and Airbus, France is reducing its reliance on external AI providers, particularly non-European ones and strengthening its capacity to control critical defence technologies. This development suggests that AI will play an expanding role in both defensive and potentially offensive cyber operations within government and military structures. Nonetheless, integrating AI into existing military systems and platforms represents significant structural challenges as it requires comprehensive data-sharing protocols and the development of secure, scalable infrastructure.
At the operational level, this contract marks a shift from peripheral AI use to its full integration into core military systems. It institutionalises AI as a routine component of information processing and data interpretation, thereby improving situational awareness and enabling wide-area monitoring of maritime spaces at a lower human and financial cost. However, increased reliance on AI also introduces the risks of automation bias and accelerated escalation if AI-generated assessments are inaccurate or deliberately manipulated. As AI systems increasingly shape intelligence outputs, they may influence threat perceptions and increase the risk of misperception or miscalculation.
From a European security perspective, France’s rapid integration of AI into military systems risks widening capability gaps within Europe, as many states lack the financial and institutional capacity to pursue similar large-scale AI integration. This may create asymmetrical dependence within European defence structures, with smaller states increasingly relying on the AI capabilities of major military powers, potentially concentrating strategic influence. Additionally, this national approach to AI strategic autonomy may fragment the European defence AI landscape, complicating coordinated and joint operations.
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Forecast
Short-term (Now - 3 months)
It is very likely that France will expand the use of AI systems for data processing beyond maritime monitoring into intelligence analysis and cyber defence applications.
It is likely that this contract will also encourage other European states to accelerate investment in AI military data-processing technology.
Long-term (>1 year)
It is very likely that AI will become a standard feature of European military systems, particularly in communication, surveillance and intelligence functions.
It is likely that regulatory and governance frameworks on the military use and application of AI will struggle to keep pace with its operational use, creating gaps in accountability and oversight.
It is very likely that AI will simultaneously become a force multiplier and a vulnerability that adversaries can exploit to undermine states’ military security.
