On March 11, 2026, forty-eight hours before the opening of the European defense exhibition BEDEX in Brussels, Thales unveiled SkyDefender. Three levels of protection, covering drones at low altitude to intercontinental ballistic missiles, with a digital brain capable of compressing a multi-day decision cycle into minutes.
The low layer neutralizes drones and short-range projectiles using the ForceShield system: Ground Master 200 radar, ControlView command center, RapidRanger vehicles armed with StarStreak and LMM missiles, complemented by electronic jamming and directed energy weapons. At medium range, the Franco-Italian SAMP/T NG system, coupled with the Ground Fire 300 radar, engages targets up to 150 kilometers away. At the top of the architecture, the SMART-L MM and UHF radars detect threats up to 5,000 kilometers, relayed by Thales Alenia Space’s infrared satellites that detect the heat emitted by a ballistic missile upon its launch.
Additionally, SkyDefender is designed to integrate into the TWISTER program (Timely Warning and Interception with Space-based TheatER surveillance) of PESCO, aimed at developing interception capabilities against hypersonic missiles.
The European Sky Shield initiative was launched by Berlin in 2022 and quickly gained twenty-four states, including Norway, the UK, and Albania. The architecture relies on three systems: the American Patriot antimissile missile, the Israeli Arrow 3 system, and the German Iris-T. France, Italy, and Spain declined to join, citing concerns about strategic independence from Washington and Tel Aviv. This refusal created an opportunity for Thales to fill the gap.
Thales’s SkyDefender components can be integrated into the architecture of ESSI’s existing member countries without requiring their withdrawal from the German system. Thales has operational alliances in place with Norwegian, Swedish, and Polish companies, whose countries are part of ESSI.
Later in May 2025, the EU Council adopted the SAFE instrument, mobilizing €150 billion for joint defense acquisitions. France is eligible for €16.2 billion. This is part of the ReArm Europe plan presented by the European Commission in March 2025, totaling €800 billion.
National defense budgets are also increasing. Germany will dedicate €108.2 billion to defense in 2026, aiming for 3.5% of GDP by 2029. France allocated €57.1 billion for defense in 2026.
Thales is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend, with a backlog of €53.3 billion and record-breaking results in 2025. The company announced plans to recruit 9,000 new employees in 2026, including 3,300 in France, along with interns and apprentices.
