Rearming for Resilience: Thales and the Next Phase of European Defence Cooperation

In July 2025, two key events reinforced Europe's accelerating commitment to rearmament and strategic collaboration: the UK-France Defence Summit in London and the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome. These diplomatic and industrial milestones underscore the importance of trusted partnerships, UK-built industrial capabilities, and advanced technology in deterring aggression and safeguarding shared national security.

UK-France Defence Summit: Renewing the Tech Partnership

The UK-France Defence Summit, held during President Macron's state visit, marked a renewed commitment to co-developing future technologies across AI, electromagnetic defence systems, and critical infrastructure resilience - all central to NATO's focus on scalable, interoperable readiness.

Thales is proud to support this agenda. UK Government announcements recognised our £40 million investment in cortAIx UK as a pivotal enabler of mission-critical AI for mission-critical AI across sense to effect. This was showcased as part of the UK-France Industrial Strategy.

cortAIx UK is Thales' AI accelerator - part of a global network - focused on developing explainable, secure, and human-in-the-loop AI. Areas of work include sensor fusion, threat detection, autonomy, and AI-enhanced command decisions. The programme supports cross-border R&D, including collaboration with UK SMEs and academic partners, and reflects a shared industrial ambition to maintain NATO's technological edge.

This initiative directly supports Europe's broader rearmament strategy - accelerating innovation and transitioning trusted AI from research to operational deployment. This investment includes the creation of 200 highly skilled AI and data specialist roles in the UK.

Supporting Ukraine: Industrial Investment & Air Defence Readiness

At the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, the UK Government announced a major air-defence contract with Thales to supply more than 5,000 missiles, valued at up to £283 million. The package supports frontline Ukrainian forces and sustains advanced manufacturing in the UK, including skilled jobs in Belfast.

This programme exemplifies Thales' role in enabling the UK's contribution to Rearm Europe - delivering UK-built, export-ready capability that supports allied deterrence and enhances operational tempo in high-threat environments.

As European nations reconstitute their munitions stockpiles and bolster resilience, the UK-Ukraine air defence partnership reflects a wider strategic shift: regenerating defence capacity at speed and scale through trusted industrial alliances.

Thales at the Forefront: Mission-Critical AI & Trusted Systems

cortAIx UK is scaling rapidly, with:

• 200 AI and data science specialists recruited by end of 2025, aligned with the UK Government's AI Opportunities Action Plan.
• Integration into Thales' global cortAIx network of 600+ experts and 100+ AI-enabled systems.
• Strategic partnerships with SMEs and universities - including UK partners in industry and academia - to industrialise and deploy trusted AI.

Key operational use cases currently focus on:

• Maritime mine countermeasures
• Electro-optical and radar data classification and fusion
• Automated threat detection

Our approach remains human-centred: prioritising explainability, cybersecurity, frugality, and trust. This makes our systems not just innovative but operationally effective, ethical, and scalable across NATO forces.

The Strategic Value of These Partnerships

Together, these announcements highlight:

• A shared Franco-British ambition to co-develop next-generation defence technology
• Thales' ability to deliver UK-built industrial capability that supports frontline readiness and European deterrence
• A UK-led commitment to Rearm Europe, grounded in AI-enhanced decision-making, trusted communications, and intelligent air defence
• Exportable systems that sustain jobs, deepen alliances, and reinforce resilience across the NATO enterprise

Leadership Perspectives Ahead of DSEI: Strengthening Europe's Defence Readiness

Speaking ahead of DSEI 2025, Phil Siviter, CEO of Thales in the UK, commented:

Rearmament today is not about simply replenishing stockpiles - it's about regenerating our industrial and technological edge in partnership with our allies. At Thales, we're proud to help the UK play a leading role - by scaling UK-built manufacturing, accelerating trusted AI, and building systems that deliver operational advantage from the factory floor to the frontline.

Chris Shaw, COO of Thales in the UK, added:

Whether it's supporting Ukraine with critical systems, powering NATO's multi-domain C2, or shaping tomorrow's AI-enabled battlespace, we are showing what a trusted UK-based partner can do. At DSEI, we will demonstrate how we deliver not just products, but capability, speed, and strategic impact.

At DSEI 2025, visit us at Stand S8-110 to experience:

• Live demonstrations of cortAIx-powered decision support for C2 and ISR
• Sovereign AI developed with UK partners - UK partners in industry and academia, academia, and SMEs
• Next-gen air defence and missile systems in support of NATO and Ukraine
• Impact stories highlighting how Thales is delivering the Defence Dividend across skills, regional growth, and UK-built capability

Join us as we showcase how operational advantage is built on trust - and how Thales is shaping the future force with our partners across government, industry and the armed forces.