Thales looks to export new C2 platform to Gulf nations, says executive

Thales has tested its HexaForce C2 platform that it hopes to export to Gulf nations. (Photo courtesy of Thales)

BEIRUT — French aerospace and defense giant Thales is pitching its new artificial intelligence-enabled command and control system, dubbed HexaForce, as a solution specifically for the Gulf market, a top executive told Breaking Defense.

“We do believe that there is an operational need and a solution based on our open standard, being able to address the sovereignty for the countries. We do believe that this solution is already fit for purpose regarding the Gulf,” Thales Vice President for Multi-Domain Operations Patrick Moreau said in an interview Tuesday.

Moreau declined to comment on any discussions the company may be having with individual Middle East customers.

Unveiled Sept. 17, HexaForce is designed to “accelerate decision-making and secure operational advantage at every level of command” for “NATO and allied nations,” the company’s release explains.

“This solution is a data, AI-powered solution. We leverage on the AI to develop quite fast, and there is agentic and LLM [large language model] inside this solution [that] could really allow the end users, for instance, to propose targeting solution to the operator, meaning that it allows the operator to process a huge amount of data,” Moreau said.

He added that HexaForce is based on open-source data, allowing users to reinforce sovereign capability within the state. This means, Moreau explained, if “you understand how it has been built and you could adapt the solution for the local needs. The [operational] data remains the property of the nation, meaning that it will remain within the country, guaranteeing the sovereignty of the solution.”

Thales says the platform also covers both strategic- and tactical-level decision making. While the C2 platform has yet to be deployed in any conflict, it has been tested in military exercises like the CWIX NATO exercise that took place in June in Poland.

The Army’s Digital Transformation

AI is reshaping the Army’s approach to cyber, electronic warfare and command and control. At TechNet Augusta 2026, leaders outlined how they’re turning emerging technology into capabilities for the battlefield.

The live-trial phases of HexaForce will forge a path for “for full-scale deployment, targeting an increase in capacity from 100 to 1,000 targets processed per day,” Thales’ release states.

Regarding the possibility of coproduction of this system with Gulf states in compliance with localization efforts in the region, Moreau answered, “whenever we deploy it locally, we could rely on domestic capabilities of Thales and/or partners to develop AI-powered capability, which are much more sovereign, considered as sovereign eyes only by the country.”

Gulf states like Saudi Arabia , United Arab Emirates and Qatar have stressed local production in recent years according to national mandates.

Breaking Defense Video

New leaders, new drone command: What we expect from AUSA 2026

Unpacking Boeing’s F/A-XX win, plus a report from wartime Ukraine

How Hegseth envisions a new Autonomous Warfare Command

What Europe’s military air fleets will look like in 30 years

Riyadh gets closer to F-35s, Damascus presses sovereignty and an expert take on Iran

Drone-hunting on the border, plus turmoil at an Air Force think tank

The future of European airpower might be unmanned

The big news out of AFA, plus a guided tour of the show floor

Why the ‘right to repair’ matters to the Pentagon

What the Pentagon is testing along the US-Mexico border

泰雷兹公司已对其HexaForce C2平台进行了测试，并希望将其出口到海湾国家。（图片由泰雷兹公司提供）

贝鲁特——法国航空航天和国防巨头泰雷兹公司的一位高管告诉《防务新闻》，该公司正在向海湾市场推销其名为 HexaForce 的新型人工智能指挥控制系统，作为专门针对海湾市场的解决方案。

泰雷兹公司多域运营副总裁帕特里克·莫罗周二在接受采访时表示：“我们相信，基于我们的开放标准，存在着实际操作上的必要性，并且能够解决各国的主权问题。我们相信，就海湾地区而言，这一解决方案已经能够满足需求。”

莫罗拒绝就公司可能与中东个别客户进行的任何讨论发表评论。

HexaForce于9月17日发布，该公司新闻稿解释说，其设计目的是“加快决策速度，并在各级指挥部确保作战优势”，适用于“北约及其盟国”。

“这个解决方案是一个数据驱动、人工智能驱动的解决方案。我们利用人工智能快速开发，并且该解决方案内部包含智能体和大型语言模型（LLM），这使得最终用户能够向运营商提出目标解决方案，这意味着它允许运营商处理大量数据，”莫罗说道。

他补充说，HexaForce基于开源数据，允许用户增强国家内部的自主能力。莫罗解释说，这意味着“如果你了解它的构建方式，你就可以根据当地需求调整解决方案。这些（运行）数据仍然是国家的财产，这意味着它将留在国内，从而保证解决方案的自主性。”

泰雷兹公司表示，该平台涵盖战略和战术层面的决策。虽然该指挥控制平台尚未在任何冲突中部署，但它已在军事演习中接受过测试，例如今年6月在波兰举行的北约联合“CWIX”演习。

陆军的数字化转型

人工智能正在重塑陆军在网络战、电子战以及指挥控制方面的策略。在2026年奥古斯塔技术网络大会上，各界领导人概述了他们如何将新兴技术转化为战场能力。

泰雷兹公司发布的新闻稿称，HexaForce 的现场试验阶段将为“全面部署铺平道路，目标是将每天处理的目标数量从 100 个增加到 1000 个”。

关于与海湾国家合作生产该系统以符合该地区本地化努力的可能性，莫罗回答说：“无论何时我们在当地部署该系统，我们都可以依靠泰雷兹和/或合作伙伴的国内能力来开发人工智能驱动的能力，这些能力更具自主性，只有该国才能将其视为主权国家。”

近年来，沙特阿拉伯、阿拉伯联合酋长国和卡塔尔等海湾国家根据国家指令，强调本地化生产。

突破性防御视频

新领导人，新无人机指挥部：我们对 AUSA 2026 的期待

深入剖析波音F/A-XX的中标，以及来自战时乌克兰的报道

赫格塞斯设想的新型自主作战指挥部

30年后欧洲军用空军机队会是什么样子

利雅得距离F-35战机更近一步，大马士革强调主权，以及专家对伊朗的看法

边境无人机猎杀行动，以及空军智库的动荡

欧洲空军的未来或许在于无人化。

AFA展会最新动态，以及展会现场导览。

为什么“维修权”对五角大楼如此重要

五角大楼正在美墨边境测试什么？