French defence procurement agency selects Thales and Sopra Steria to compete for ARTEMIS an innovation partnership for the armed forces ministry's Big Data platform

Following a competitive tendering process, the French defence procurement agency (DGA) has selected three companies or groups of companies to take part in the first phase of the ARTEMIS[1] innovation partnership. ARTEMIS is a 15-year framework agreement to provide a sovereign Big Data solution to stay abreast exponential growth in data volumes, transmissions speeds and formats, and will involve major changes in the design of information systems.

A platform for the defence community to optimise the use of Big Data capabilities

Thales is delighted to have been selected, in partnership with Sopra Steria, to compete for the first phase of the ARTEMIS innovation partnership and welcomes the decision made by the DGA in late 2017. This first phase will involve designing and building a proof-of-concept Big Data architecture, developing specific algorithms for operational use cases involving the use of Big Data for cybersecurity, intelligence, image processing and maritime surveillance missions, and designing a user interface to present the results. Thales, Sopra Steria, and a range of smaller companies and innovative start-ups will be combining their expertise and talent in support of these objectives.

«Thales is proud to have been selected to compete for the first phase of the ARTEMIS innovation partnership. We know how much is at stake in the digital transformation of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, and Thales will continue to show its agility to ensure that the existing system benefits from the latest advances on an ongoing basis. » 
Pierre Cunéo, Vice-President, Protection Sytems, Thales

Digital ambition: a strategy of convergence between armed forces ministry requirements and recent technological advances 

Digitalisation is gaining ground in every aspect of combat operations conducted by French forces. But the digital transformation goes well beyond what is visible on the battlefield, increasingly affecting everything from logistic support and maintenance services to intelligence systems, predictive analysis, operational information and communication systems, cybersecurity, training and simulation, and more.

There are many potential applications for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence technologies in the defence sector, and industry is proud to support the Ministry of the Armed Forces in fulfilling these ambitions.
 
[1] Architecture de Traitement et d’Exploitation Massive de l’Information multi-Sources

Key Points

• The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has selected Thales, in competition with other industry players, for the first phase of the ARTEMIS innovation partnership.
• The Ministry of the Armed Forces requires a digital platform to optimise the use of Big Data capabilities.
• Thales supports its customers in their digital transformation.