French Defense Minister Florence Parley says she has been exploring with French defense giant Thales concepts for what she called “fearsome little detectors” that “will be the eyes of our most valuable satellites.”

Many feel that the FCAS (Future Combat Air System) is a Mission Impossible when one focuses on how much money — $4 billion by 2025 is to be jointly allocated by France and Germany.

“We cannot accept that the decision to kill anybody is taken by a machine or software,” says retired French Lt. Gen. Alain Bouquin, speaking about France’s policy on the use of AI.

“While it is not up to Thales to decide what is or is not ethical, it is up to us to develop technologies that enable our customers to implement ethical principles,” says David Sadek, director of AI research for French electronics giant Thales.

WASHINGTON: Hope for the best; prepare for the worst. It’s a standard military prescription for dealing with a sometimes hostile and usually unpredictable world. It’s also what an African-American chum told me this morning was his plan for life under President Trump. This guy is a fellow Chicagoan and Cubs fan, so he knows how to… Keep reading →

[UPDATED 8:00 with Loren Thompson comment] This afternoon, the Army announced it had chosen Harris and Thales to make its Rifleman Radio, the 21st century walkie-talkie that links foot troops into the Army’s command network. General Dynamics and Thales had split production of the first 21,379 radios under a Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract, but GD… Keep reading →

From handheld radios to high-tech headquarters, the Army’s top priority is what it calls the network. That’s not one project but a whole array of programs, each complex on its own. They all are supposed to interconnect so it’s no surprise that the Pentagon’s top tester has found plenty of problems. What is surprising in… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Defense contractor General Dynamics has taken hits from the Army, from the Pentagon’s independent Director of Operational Test & Evaluation and from us about its role in the troubled Joint Tactical Radio Systems program. Now, in an interview this morning, the president of GDC4S (that’s General Dynamics Command, Control, Communications, & Computer Systems), Chris Marzilli,… Keep reading →