“The frontline is now where drones can see the enemy”

What are the most important lessons emerging from today's conflicts?

The first lesson is that we have returned to a world of high-intensity conflict. While the contexts differ, both Ukraine and the Middle East highlight the same underlying reality: modern warfare is once again being fought simultaneously across multiple domains, where land, air, maritime, space, and cyber operations are closely intertwined..  

In Ukraine, we are witnessing a high-intensity land conflict marked by a war of position that is set to last. The battlefield is broader, more contested, more transparent, and more lethal. Drones, sensors, electronic warfare means, and connected command systems now make it possible to observe and act in depth. The front line is no longer where soldiers can see the enemy. Increasingly, it is where drones can see them. 

In the Gulf, the dominant lesson is that of saturation. Waves of drones and missiles simultaneously target forces, critical infrastructure, urban centers, and energy facilities. What is particularly striking is that actors with relatively limited means can now threaten strategic assets using drones and missiles that are comparatively inexpensive and available in large numbers. This creates a new challenge for armed forces: deciding what to intercept, with what system, and at what cost. It is not sustainable to respond to every low-cost threat with a highly sophisticated interceptor. 

These recent and ongoing conflicts have undoubtedly changed tactics. The widespread use of drones, the growing importance of electronic warfare and the acceleration of information flows have transformed the way operations are conducted. The nature of war has not fundamentally changed. We still need to manoeuvre, protect ourselves, gather intelligence, strike, and endure. What has changed is the speed at which information circulates, decisions are made and effects are visible. 

That is why accelerating the OODA loop – observing, orienting, deciding and acting – has become so critical. The ability to shorten decision-making cycles and rapidly connect sensors, command systems and effectors is increasingly what determines operational superiority.

How are these lessons reshaping the needs of armed forces?

The armed forces are once again facing the demands of high-intensity combat, which they had partly had to abandon over the past thirty years, a period marked by successive financial and capability reductions. For several decades, resources were concentrated on expeditionary operations. Today, it is a matter of rebuilding certain capabilities that have disappeared or been maintained at only a token level. 

Mission feedback has become absolutely essential. It's what enables us to understand how threats are evolving and how to adapt capabilities to the pace of modern combat. This means first addressing critical capability gaps identified in recent conflicts, namely mobile command posts, electronic warfare, ground-based air defence, counter-UAV systems, drones and long-range firing as well as divisional and corps-level capabilities. 

Forces are currently seeking capabilities that enable them to accelerate decision-making, better protect themselves, and maintain their freedom of action in highly contested environments. This notably involves more agile, data-oriented command and control systems, integrating artificial intelligence, as well as enhanced electronic warfare, ground-based air defence, and counter-drone capabilities. Armed forces are also interested in drones and remotely operated munitions, discreet and hybrid connectivity, and collaborative combat between manned and unmanned platforms.

Current conflicts also demonstrate the need to find a new balance between technology and mass, between performance and volume: equipment that is high-performing, rapidly available, deployable in numbers and able to endure over time.

This shift comes with an increased need for resilience and agility. Equipment must be upgradeable, based on open architectures, and able to quickly integrate new functionalities. Interoperability remains crucial, as does the ability to support long-term operations through effective operational maintenance. In high-intensity conflict, resilience, immediate availability, and sustainability are as important as pure performance.

In the realm of operational preparation, the rapid pace of technological changes, evolving threats and modes of action requires armed forces to accelerate their learning cycles. In this respect, simulation plays an increasingly important role, not only to prepare units before deployment but also to integrate new capabilities, test new concepts of employment, and capitalise more rapidly on lessons learned.

How is Thales adapting to this new operational reality?

The first requirement is to be able to pivot. The pace requires us to quickly identify emerging needs and to adapt our existing solutions accordingly, providing operational responses within shorter timescales.

This involves closer engagement with the forces to better understand their real and immediate requirements, to experiment with innovative solutions directly with users, and to rapidly integrate feedback from experience. This is the aim of the trials conducted by Thales and the land forces, in close coordination with the exploratory units of the French and Belgian armies.

This shift leads us to rethink our approach to innovation. We must accept a degree of risk, experiment earlier, and develop more self-funded solutions, in order to quickly test new concepts alongside the armed forces. The goal is to significantly shorten the time from identifying a need to delivering a capability.

Innovation also means imagining new uses. Today, we see capabilities being employed in ways very different to their original intent: helicopters effectively and at low cost deployed in counter-drone missions; rockets initially designed for ground-to-ground missions being used against aerial threats; and much deeper integration between drones, artillery, and command systems in order to accelerate the intelligence-decision-fire chain.

The same logic applies to connectivity. Military networks now rely on hybrid architectures that combine tactical, satellite, and civil solutions to offer communications that are more resilient, more discreet, and better suited to contested environments.

In this respect, the Group’s international reach is a major asset. The solutions developed by Thales—whether French, British, Belgian, or otherwise—allow us to swiftly offer proven capabilities meeting our clients’ immediate needs.

Innovation is therefore not only technological. It is also based on new forms of cooperation, new uses, and an increased ability to rapidly transform field lessons into operational solutions.

Why is mass once again becoming a key factor, and how is Thales addressing this challenge?

The return of high-intensity warfare has brought one reality back to the forefront: mass matters. 

Operational effectiveness depends not only on the quality of equipment but also on the ability to field sufficient quantities, replace losses, sustain operations and adapt production to changing requirements. Recent conflicts have shown us that equipment, munitions and spare parts are consumed at a pace that many Western armies had not experienced for decades. 

To respond to this new situation, Thales has undertaken a major industrialisation effort. Production capacities have been significantly increased in several critical areas, whether in munitions, radars, or electronic warfare equipment.

In this context, securing the supply chain is essential. Producing more means ensuring access to critical components, diversifying sources of supply, and anticipating risks associated with strategic materials.

This is why the Defence Industrial and Technological Base (BITD) plays a fundamental role. SMEs, mid-sized companies, and startups are an indispensable link in our collective ability to innovate, produce, and support the forces over time. By working closely with this ecosystem, both in France and internationally, Thales strengthens its industrial resilience and its ability to quickly respond to the needs of armed forces.

Why did you choose an operational journey rather than a traditional product showcase?

Military operations do not function in silos, and the battlefield is not merely a juxtaposition of technologies.

Success on today's battlefield depends on the ability to connect sensors, command systems, connectivity, effectors and protection measures into a coherent operational system. This is the reality we wanted to convey through the 2026 showcase route of the Thales pavilion at Eurosatory.

The journey begins with a dedicated "Lessons from Combat" area, where visitors can explore the lessons emerging from recent conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and the Middle East, and see how Thales solutions have been employed and adapted in response. 

They then continue their visit through the various operational functions of a deployed force. The “Combat” area highlights close protection, battlefield transparency, electronic warfare, drones, tactical connectivity, and lethality capabilities—both in depth and at close quarters, whether on foot or in vehicles.

The tour continues with the “Command” zone, dedicated to command and control systems, secure hybrid connectivity, the contribution of artificial intelligence, and the acceleration of the OODA loop.

The “Protect” zone presents solutions for protecting forces, critical infrastructure, and territory, with a particular focus on ground-to-air defence and counter-drone measures.

Finally, the “Train & Sustain” space recalls a reality that is often less visible but absolutely essential: in a high-intensity conflict, it is necessary not only to fight, but also to endure. Operational preparation, simulation, logistical support, and operational maintenance are key success factors.

The guiding principle of this journey is simple: make the battlefield more transparent, accelerate the tempo of operations, improve the effectiveness of effectors, and enable the forces to maintain their freedom of action.

One concept summarises this logic particularly well: before manoeuvring, gathering intelligence, or striking, one must be capable of surviving. That is why ground-to-air defence, counter-drone measures, and electronic warfare capabilities now occupy a central place in our vision of land combat.

Which technologies could transform the battlefield of tomorrow?

Some technologies improve existing capabilities. Others have the potential to fundamentally change the way forces operate. 

In this respect, artificial intelligence is already playing a cross-cutting role in all of these developments. Its purpose is not to replace the soldier, but to enable them to process information more rapidly, better understand their environment, and make more informed decisions.

Among the most promising disruptive technologies is quantum technology. These technologies offer major new prospects in the fields of detection, navigation, positioning, time referencing, and secure communications. In the long run, they could profoundly change the way forces perceive, coordinate, and conduct operations.

Optical communications constitute another particularly promising area. They will provide more discreet, more resilient links offering much higher data rates in contested environments.

New materials represent another major axis of transformation. Whether for protection, signature reduction, or adaptive camouflage, they will directly contribute to the survivability of platforms and soldiers.

Finally, directed energy weapons are beginning to offer new perspectives against saturation attacks and drone threats, just as new navigation solutions are becoming capable of operating in GNSS-denied environments.

What will define operational superiority tomorrow?

The ability to adapt, innovate and produce faster than the adversary. 

Operational superiority will depend on the capacity to understand the situation more quickly, make better decisions and translate those decisions into action at speed. It will require the effective combination of sensors, connectivity, command systems, effectors and human expertise. 

More broadly, it is the result of collective will and effort: that of a nation mobilised to defend itself and prevail, with an industry made up of skilled engineers and technicians serving an armed force that is equipped, trained, motivated, and supported by its people. Operational capabilities and moral strength are both essential in order not to suffer defeat, but to overcome. History, as well as current events, demonstrate this to us daily.

The superiority of tomorrow is achieved today in our training camps and our factories; that of the day after tomorrow is being prepared in our schools, design offices, and laboratories.