A major partner for European research

In both the civil and defence sectors, Thales has established itself as one of the main partners of European research programmes, forging a bond of trust from very early on. Since the European Union launched the first framework programme for research and technological development (PCRD) in 1984, Thales (Thomson-CSF at the time) has actively collaborated on joint projects, notably in the fields of microelectronics and information systems, starting with the various Esprit programmes (European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology), which have played a key role in raising the technological level of European industry up to that of the United States and China. These collaborations will continue and intensify across the different funding programmes (or Framework Programmes), in various sectors: aeronautics, telecommunications, optronics...

"Thales’ participation for half a century in projects supported by successive framework programmes [editor’s note: now renamed PCRI (research and innovation framework programmes)] has allowed our company to gain experience, legitimacy and knowledge of the various institutional, industrial, and academic partners, which today make us a key player in European research and innovation”, says Sophie Muller, director of collaborative R&T studies. 

Under the latest framework programme (FP9), entitled Horizon Europe and with a budget of €95.5 billion for the period 2021-2027, as well as under the Digital Europe Programme (another initiative led by the European Commission, aimed at deploying resources for digital transition in Europe), Thales is involved, to date, in more than 150 projects, nearly half of which concern digital technology and digital transformation (Artificial intelligence, cloud, quantum technologies, connectivity...). “Here, cybersecurity is one of our main areas of expertise, with a particularly satisfactory success rate in the projects we carry out,” points out Sophie Muller. Starting with the digital identity portfolio project, POTENTIAL, in which Thales' expertise has proven to be essential.

In the defence sector, Thales was involved in large-scale European intergovernmental programmes long before the creation of the EDF (European Defence Fund): development of surveillance, communication, air and naval defence systems, involvement in cybersecurity and critical technologies projects led by the European defence agency, participation in European consortia within the framework of NATO. 

The announcement in 2017 by the European Commission of its desire to set up a fund intended to financially support Community defence R&D projects has led Thales to further strengthen its leading role in this area. The company is thus involved in the two programmes that were forerunners of the EDF, via six PADR projects (Preparatory Action on Defence Research), three of them as coordinator, and 16 EDIDP projects (European Defense Industry Development Programme), two of them as coordinator. 

Once the European Defence Fund was actually set up (€7.3 billion in funding for the period 2021-2027), Thales took part in 61 projects over the first three years, including 12 as a European coordinator, in fields of expertise ranging from technologies (such as quantum sensors) to defence systems. The latest programmes coordinated by Thales involve the networking of sensors for European air and anti-missile defence (EISNET), the use of unmanned platforms for underwater warfare (SEACURE), and innovative combat tank technologies (FMBTech). According to Pierre Schanne, Director of Upstream Studies for Defence: “In terms of the number of participations, Thales is currently the leading EDF player in Europe. The results of the first projects confirm the usefulness of the EDF in strengthening interoperability between European systems, supporting the development of new products and discovering new partners.”