PARIS — Thales has launched HexaForce, a next-generation artificial intelligence-enhanced command and control (C2) system designed to help armed forces manage growing volumes of operational data and coordinate operations across multiple domains while maintaining national control over their information.
HexaForce is designed to operate across land, air, sea, cyber, the electromagnetic spectrum, space and information operations. Its distributed architecture connects existing national and coalition systems from strategic headquarters to tactical units and is designed to continue operating when communications are severely disrupted.
The system uses AI capabilities from cortAIx, Thales’ dedicated AI accelerator, which includes 800 engineers and data scientists. HexaForce integrates large language models (LLMs) and agentic AI to support mission planning, improve the operational picture, share and consolidate information, speed up decision-making, allocate effectors and support maintenance activities.
AI also allows the system to automatically analyse, correlate and prioritise information from military, open-source and civilian sources. Live trials are underway, with the goal of increasing processing capacity from 100 to 1,000 targets per day. HexaForce builds on experience from Artemis.IA, a data-centric platform deployed with the French Ministry of Armed Forces since 2023.
Thales said HexaForce is designed for high-intensity operations involving more than 100,000 personnel and can orchestrate assets across a force and its partners from strategic to tactical levels.
Open Architecture and Interoperability
HexaForce combines a core software platform with multi-domain command applications and uses an open, interoperable architecture. The system was tested during the NATO CWIX 2026 exercise, held from June 8 to 26 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
It natively supports Data-Centric Security (DCS) and Federated Mission Networking (FMN) standards. This allows nations to control incoming and outgoing data without exposing sensitive information, while integrating technology from different partners and connecting legacy systems from third-party vendors.
Christophe Salomon, Executive Vice-President of Secure Communications and Information Systems at Thales, said HexaForce provides a sovereign solution for forces requiring dedicated data platforms, cross-domain interfaces with allies or faster AI-enabled multi-domain command functions.
Thales said HexaForce was co-developed with armed forces through short feedback cycles and is already available.
Thales has more than 85,000 employees in 65 countries and invests around €4.5 billion annually in research and development, with a focus on artificial intelligence and other critical technologies.
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