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Thales has received two major PERSEUS distinctions, awarded by the French Navy, the Délégation Générale de l'Armement (the French procurement agency) and the Agence de l’Innovation de Défense (Defence Innovation Agency). After winning an award in 2023 for its Sentinel electronic warfare solution, Thales is once again certified for CURCO, a compact electronic warfare payload for drones, as well as for Golden AI, an AI-based intelligent analysis tool for electronic warfare data. These two solutions were officially presented at the 2025 Forum innovation défense.
CURCO is designed as a lightweight and compact external payload, adaptable to any drone and air, sea or land vehicle. It meets the SWAP requirements (size, weight and power). Capable of defining the electromagnetic environment over a wide frequency band, CURCO offers accurate, fast and reliable detection of enemy radar emissions. It transmits advanced tactical information to operators in real time for better anticipation. Its simple interface and compatibility with numerous mission software programmes has been established during experiments in real conditions, notably during two exercises carried out in 2024 and 2025 in partnership with the French Navy. As part of further developments, CURCO will incorporate, as an option, an on-board jammer aimed at disrupting detected enemy radars.
As for Golden AI, it offers a major evolution towards cognitive electronic warfare, thanks to two innovative functions that enable the data collected by radar interceptors (R-ESM) to be analysed up to 4 times faster. First, it enables the training of AI models from the databases of capitalised radar electromagnetic interceptions. It also enables the analysis of electromagnetic interceptions recorded during a mission, in order to identify the names of the corresponding radars and to enrich the database. By standardising and accelerating analysis, this tool significantly reduces operators’ workload, while improving the accuracy of interception reports. During tests conducted on the ground and then on board during the Clemenceau 25 exercise, Golden AI demonstrated its ability to handle the capitalisation base of the Navy. It also facilitated the debriefings of operators on board, accelerated analysis on the ground, and improved the perception of the tactical situation, while guaranteeing data sovereignty thanks to reliable and scalable AI.
Created in 2003, the PERSEUS prize aims to accelerate the integration of key technologies by bringing together sailors, DGA engineers and industrial players, in order to quickly equip the armed forces. Thus, as the mastery of the electromagnetic spectrum becomes critical, in an increasingly dense and complex operational environment, CURCO and Golden AI meet essential needs, both for the Navy and for an export market.
With more than 60 years of expertise in electronic warfare, Thales is a key partner for French and European defence, and confirms its ability to support forces in detecting and neutralising radar threats, regardless of the environment.
