France readies AI-powered combat data-management similar to US ‘Maven’

PARIS — France’s armed forces are working on a data-management system powered by artificial intelligence as a sovereign equivalent to the U.S. Defense Department’s Project Maven, said Gen. Benoît Desmeulles , the commander of the French 1st Army Corps.

The armed forces are working with partners on a system to provide what Desmeulles called “true distributed working capability” centered on data and using advanced AI, “a sovereign system that will essentially be the equivalent of Maven.”

The system could be available within a few months, and available for exercises in September 2027, the general said, declining to provide specifics.

Project Maven is a Pentagon program that uses AI to process drone and surveillance data to automatically detect and track objects, using technology provided by contractors including Palantir Technologies. Maven has faced controversy amid questions about AI-assisted targeting in Iran, with concerns about speed, accountability, and harm to civilians related to automated kill chains.

“We’ve really positioned data as the center of everything we do,” Desmeulles said in a briefing with three reporters on Saturday at the Montmorillon military camp in western France, describing data as the ammunition of the command post.

“The centrality of data is something that’s well understood by the corps, the Army, and the French forces,” he said. “So, we’re really focused on that.”

The armed forces are on track to develop “a true distributed working capability, based on highly advanced artificial intelligence and centered on data,” Desmeulles said. “We’re following that logic, to remain sovereign, and that’s an area where we are strong.”

Desmeulles said his corps is already seeing “very, very good” results from a data-centric approach, even if there is “still a little way to go before it’s practically perfect in my eyes.”

France has several AI companies that are active in defense, including Comand AI, ChapsVision and Safran’s AI business, and is also home to a major developer of large-language models with Mistral AI. France in 2024 created an agency under the Armed Forces Ministry that works on AI for defense.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国第一军军长贝努瓦·德默勒将军表示，法国武装部队正在开发一套由人工智能驱动的数据管理系统，作为美国国防部“Maven计划”的主权对应项目。

武装部队正与合作伙伴共同开发一个系统，以提供德斯梅勒所说的“真正的分布式工作能力”，该系统以数据为中心，并利用先进的人工智能，“一个本质上相当于 Maven 的主权系统”。

这位将军表示，该系统可能在几个月内投入使用，并于 2027 年 9 月用于演习，但他拒绝透露具体细节。

“Maven计划”是五角大楼的一项计划，它利用人工智能处理无人机和监视数据，自动探测和追踪目标，其技术由包括Palantir Technologies在内的承包商提供。Maven计划因在伊朗使用人工智能辅助目标定位而备受争议，人们担忧其速度、问责机制以及自动化杀伤链可能对平民造成的伤害。

“我们已经真正将数据定位为我们一切工作的核心，”德斯梅勒周六在法国西部蒙莫里永军营向三名记者举行的简报会上说，并将数据描述为指挥所的弹药。

他说：“军团、陆军和法国军队都非常清楚数据的重要性。因此，我们确实非常重视这一点。”

德斯穆勒表示，武装部队正按计划发展“基于高度先进的人工智能并以数据为中心的真正分布式工作能力”。“我们遵循这一逻辑，是为了保持主权，而这正是我们的优势所在。”

德斯梅勒表示，他的团队已经从以数据为中心的方法中看到了“非常好的”成果，尽管“在我看来，距离完美还有一段路要走”。

法国拥有多家活跃于国防领域的AI公司，包括Comand AI、ChapsVision和赛峰集团的AI业务部门，此外，法国还拥有大型语言模型的主要开发商Mistral AI。2024年，法国在武装部队部下设立了一个专门从事国防AI研究的机构。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。