France’s Thales launched the first private defense cloud solution for land forces on June 11, which aims to deliver full connectivity in degraded battlefield environments and is expected to be delivered in 2019.
Thales’ unveiled its Nexium Defence Cloud solution at the Eurosatory conference in Paris, where it demonstrated the system’s software-enabled, “all-in-one-box” capability that can be set up to deliver cloud connectivity in a tactical environment within minutes.
“With land forces, they don’t always have dedicated available networks. So we are providing the connectivity, and we make sure it stays connected even in disrupted areas,” Andre Mechaly, head of marketing for secure communications & information systems, told reporters June 11.
The cloud infrastructure solution stems for a software-defined node connected to a main data center operated by Thales. The system brings together 4G, satellite communications and tactical radio technologies to support battlefield applications even network connections may be disrupted.
The Nexium solution is currently in testing trials and a first round of deliveries is expected in 2019, according to Mechaly.
“We are currently engaged in discussions with the European market and the Middle East,” Mechaly said.
Thales built the system with anti-jamming capabilities and capabilities to move between frequencies. The company also baked in cyber tools to remotely monitor malicious activity against the cloud environment.
“All the data that is in the data center is encrypted with mechanisms that allow us to remotely wipe it in case it will be stolen,” Mechaly said.
Thales is working to develop the system for naval and air forces but has yet to reach the same connectivity capabilities, according to Mechaly.