The French Ministry of Defense has authorized the final phase of Athea, a joint venture between Thales and Atos, which is developing a new big data and artificial-intelligence (AI) processing capability that will be delivered next year.
The Artemis.IA project has been in the works since 2017, with Artemis standing for the French phrase “architecture for the processing and massive exploitation of multi-source information and artificial intelligence.” According to a press release issued Monday, a procurement notification for Phase 3 of the program on June 24 was circulated by the French military procurement office Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA).
Artemis’ goal is to cater to France with a sovereign and secure big-data and AI processing platform capable of exploiting and analyzing massive volumes of data generated by military equipment and other sensors.
The Ministry in a statement said that, Artemis.IA’s initial phases made it feasible to validate, with the users, the technical solutions adopted, and to develop an industrial ecosystem comprised of academic and industrial players (large groups, start-ups, and small and medium-sized enterprises). The current phase will result in the development of the first operational platform, which will be deployed in 2023 for the welfare of the joint intelligence function.
The first application will focus on “multi-source information exploitation,” according to the ministry. Artemis.IA, which was designed to be modular, is expected to be used in the future for other applications like cybersecurity, military health monitoring, predictive maintenance, and maritime surveillance. According to the statement, the ministry will provide a development and integration kit for industry and academia to aid in the deployment of new applications.
In April 2021, Atos and Thales formed Athea as a joint venture to focus on big data and AI solutions for France and the rest of Europe. Artemis has been in the hands of the two companies since the demonstration phase began in 2017.
Data exploitation represents a significant challenge to maintaining the armed forces’ operational superiority, said Philippe Gasc, president of Athea, in a July 11 statement. We are proud to have created a sovereign solution that will allow France to act autonomously in intelligence, operations command, and digital space.
The French Digital Defense Agency (Agence du Numérique de Défense) will manage this new contract. According to the ministry, it calls for the deployment of an initial operational platform, and the development of successive standards, as well as training and maintenance support over a three-year period.
There was no mention of funding. The French Ministry of Defense’s five-year spending plan, known as the loi de programmation militaire (LPM) 2019-2025, allocates approximately €700 million ($706 million) to AI technology development.
