THALES LAS FRANCE SAS

Their core work

Thales LAS France is the air traffic management (ATM) division of the Thales Group, one of Europe's largest aerospace and defence companies. They design and build the systems that air traffic controllers use to manage flights — from radar and surveillance infrastructure to controller working positions, communication networks, and trajectory management software. Within H2020, they are a cornerstone participant in the SESAR programme, Europe's initiative to modernize its airspace, contributing to nearly every major ATM research and validation project across runway management, drone integration, and network operations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2018), Thales LAS focused on foundational ATM capabilities: aviation safety research (Future Sky Safety), system engineering methodology (PJ22 SEabird), and building core SESAR infrastructure like SWIM data networks and controller workstations. Their recent projects (2019–2023) show a clear shift toward operational performance — runway throughput optimization, precision approaches (PBN, GNSS, CDO), arrival/departure queue management, and critically, the integration of drones (RPAS) into controlled airspace. This evolution mirrors the broader SESAR programme's move from research and architecture definition toward deployment-ready validation and the emerging U-Space drone framework.

Thales LAS is moving toward drone airspace integration and performance-based navigation, positioning itself as a key enabler of the future European airspace where manned and unmanned aircraft coexist.

How they like to work

Thales LAS operates predominantly as a heavyweight participant rather than a consortium leader — coordinating only 3 of 41 projects but contributing substantial funding shares (averaging EUR 1.5M per project). With 202 unique partners across 31 countries, they function as a hub organization embedded across virtually every SESAR work package, which means partnering with them gives access to the broadest ATM research network in Europe. Their consistent presence across SESAR waves suggests they are a reliable, long-term partner rather than an opportunistic participant.

With 202 unique consortium partners across 31 countries, Thales LAS has one of the most extensive collaboration networks in European ATM research. Their partners span the full ATM ecosystem — air navigation service providers (ANSPs), airports, airlines, research centres, and fellow industry suppliers across all EU member states and associated countries.

What sets them apart

Thales LAS is one of only two or three companies in Europe (alongside Indra and Leonardo) with the scale and expertise to participate across the entire SESAR ATM research portfolio — from surveillance and communication infrastructure to controller tools and airspace design. Their combination of hardware manufacturing capability, software development, and systems integration expertise means they can take a concept from research validation to deployed product. For consortium builders, having Thales LAS as a partner brings immediate credibility with SESAR Joint Undertaking evaluators and access to real ATM operational environments for validation.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PJ10 PROSA
  Their largest single project (EUR 5.4M) focused on controller separation tools — core to Thales's commercial ATM product line and a direct pipeline from research to market.
• PJ17 SWIM-TI
  One of their three coordinator roles, leading the development of SWIM (System Wide Information Management) — the data backbone that connects all future ATM systems across Europe.
• USIS
  Coordinator of U-Space Initial Services, positioning Thales at the forefront of drone traffic management — a rapidly growing market outside traditional ATM.