Dassault Invests $200M in Harmattan AI to Power Manned-Unmanned Combat Autonomy for Rafale F5 Jets
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Dassault Aviation has committed $200 million to Harmattan AI in a Series B round aimed at embedding combat autonomy into the Rafale F5 standard and future loyal wingman drones. The move signals a strategic push by France to field sovereign, human-controlled artificial intelligence at the core of next-generation air combat operations.
On January 12, 2026, Dassault Aviation and Harmattan AI announced a strategic partnership anchored by a $200 million Series B investment led by the French aircraft manufacturer. The agreement goes well beyond a financial operation, reflecting a deliberate industrial and operational choice to place controlled, sovereign artificial intelligence at the heart of France’s future air combat systems. By focusing on embedded autonomy rather than standalone solutions, the partnership is intended to support the evolution of Rafale F5 and the development of a future Unmanned Combat Aerial System designed to operate in close coordination with manned fighters in increasingly contested environments.
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Dassault Aviation has invested $200 million in Harmattan AI to embed sovereign, human-controlled combat autonomy into the Rafale F5 fighter and future loyal wingman drones, signaling a major shift in how France plans to fight in contested airspace (Picture Source: Dassault Aviation)
The partnership sheds light on how Dassault envisions the evolution of combat aviation in the coming decades. Rather than treating artificial intelligence as an add-on or an experimental layer, the group is clearly positioning autonomy as an embedded component of mission systems, tightly integrated into aircraft architecture and subject to strict operational supervision. The repeated emphasis on sovereignty and control underscores a longstanding French doctrine, where national authorities retain full ownership of algorithms, data flows and decision-support logic, particularly when lethal effects are involved. In this framework, AI is designed to assist crews, compress decision timelines and manage complexity, without displacing human responsibility.
Harmattan AI’s role within this ecosystem is focused on precisely this intersection between autonomy and operational control. Founded in 2024, the company has rapidly positioned itself as a defence-oriented AI player developing vertically integrated autonomous systems rather than isolated software tools. Its activities span layered air defence, coordinated ISR and strike UAV operations, electronic warfare solutions and command-and-control platforms. The company states that its systems are already produced at scale and deployed with several NATO and allied partners, and that it is supporting multiple defence programmes in France and the United Kingdom. The new funding round is intended to accelerate this trajectory by expanding deployments into new theatres, extending capabilities across additional domains and scaling industrial production for ISR, counter-drone and electronic warfare platforms.
For Dassault Aviation, the partnership aligns closely with the long-term roadmap of the Rafale, particularly the F5 standard expected around the turn of the next decade. Rafale F5 is increasingly presented not simply as an incremental upgrade, but as a platform optimised for collaborative combat, capable of operating as part of a wider system-of-systems. Artificial intelligence is central to this vision, acting as a cockpit multiplier that helps crews cope with information saturation, coordinate distributed assets and remain effective in environments shaped by electronic warfare and degraded communications.
This approach is inseparable from France’s UCAS programme, launched under a contract awarded in late 2024. The future UCAS is intended to complement Rafale rather than replace it, operating as part of a manned-unmanned team. Official programme descriptions point to a stealthy, internally armed platform designed for collaborative combat, with autonomous functions executed under human supervision. Within this context, Harmattan AI’s contribution is less about abstract autonomy and more about enabling reliable, predictable control of unmanned systems as part of a coherent combat formation.
In practical terms, the gains expected from this manned-unmanned pairing lie primarily in workload reduction and time compression. AI-enabled functions can support faster threat detection and classification, assist in route and mission planning to reduce exposure, manage deconfliction between crewed and uncrewed platforms and coordinate effects such as sensing or electronic attack. The emphasis remains on keeping the human crew in command, while ensuring that critical decisions are supported by timely, filtered and relevant information when the pace of combat exceeds what manual processes alone can handle.
Dassault’s involvement also highlights the industrial dimension of the partnership. Beyond investment capital, the group brings its experience in designing and certifying complex military platforms, integrating mission systems for high-intensity operations and supporting long-term sustainment across international fleets. For Harmattan AI, this provides a pathway from rapid innovation to integration into airworthy, certifiable systems that must meet stringent security, export and safety requirements. For Dassault, it ensures access to an AI partner already oriented toward production and deployment rather than laboratory demonstration.
The timing of the agreement is equally significant. By committing substantial resources in 2026, Dassault is effectively pulling key elements of its 2030s air combat architecture into the present. Autonomy and mission AI are no longer treated as future enhancements to be bolted on once platforms are mature, but as foundational capabilities shaping design choices today. This reflects a broader shift in air combat thinking, where success increasingly depends on managing complexity, resilience and decision speed as much as raw platform performance.
The Dassault–Harmattan AI partnership signals a move beyond conceptual discussions of “loyal wingmen” toward a more structured and industrialised model of collaborative combat. If executed as intended, Rafale F5 and the future UCAS will not merely operate side by side, but as tightly integrated elements of a single combat system, sharing data, intent and tasking logic while preserving human authority over the use of force. In an era defined by contested airspace and accelerated decision cycles, this approach illustrates how controlled autonomy is being translated from ambition into an operational reality.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
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Dassault Aviation has committed $200 million to Harmattan AI in a Series B round aimed at embedding combat autonomy into the Rafale F5 standard and future loyal wingman drones. The move signals a strategic push by France to field sovereign, human-controlled artificial intelligence at the core of next-generation air combat operations.
On January 12, 2026, Dassault Aviation and Harmattan AI announced a strategic partnership anchored by a $200 million Series B investment led by the French aircraft manufacturer. The agreement goes well beyond a financial operation, reflecting a deliberate industrial and operational choice to place controlled, sovereign artificial intelligence at the heart of France’s future air combat systems. By focusing on embedded autonomy rather than standalone solutions, the partnership is intended to support the evolution of Rafale F5 and the development of a future Unmanned Combat Aerial System designed to operate in close coordination with manned fighters in increasingly contested environments.
Dassault Aviation has invested $200 million in Harmattan AI to embed sovereign, human-controlled combat autonomy into the Rafale F5 fighter and future loyal wingman drones, signaling a major shift in how France plans to fight in contested airspace (Picture Source: Dassault Aviation)
The partnership sheds light on how Dassault envisions the evolution of combat aviation in the coming decades. Rather than treating artificial intelligence as an add-on or an experimental layer, the group is clearly positioning autonomy as an embedded component of mission systems, tightly integrated into aircraft architecture and subject to strict operational supervision. The repeated emphasis on sovereignty and control underscores a longstanding French doctrine, where national authorities retain full ownership of algorithms, data flows and decision-support logic, particularly when lethal effects are involved. In this framework, AI is designed to assist crews, compress decision timelines and manage complexity, without displacing human responsibility.
Harmattan AI’s role within this ecosystem is focused on precisely this intersection between autonomy and operational control. Founded in 2024, the company has rapidly positioned itself as a defence-oriented AI player developing vertically integrated autonomous systems rather than isolated software tools. Its activities span layered air defence, coordinated ISR and strike UAV operations, electronic warfare solutions and command-and-control platforms. The company states that its systems are already produced at scale and deployed with several NATO and allied partners, and that it is supporting multiple defence programmes in France and the United Kingdom. The new funding round is intended to accelerate this trajectory by expanding deployments into new theatres, extending capabilities across additional domains and scaling industrial production for ISR, counter-drone and electronic warfare platforms.
For Dassault Aviation, the partnership aligns closely with the long-term roadmap of the Rafale, particularly the F5 standard expected around the turn of the next decade. Rafale F5 is increasingly presented not simply as an incremental upgrade, but as a platform optimised for collaborative combat, capable of operating as part of a wider system-of-systems. Artificial intelligence is central to this vision, acting as a cockpit multiplier that helps crews cope with information saturation, coordinate distributed assets and remain effective in environments shaped by electronic warfare and degraded communications.
This approach is inseparable from France’s UCAS programme, launched under a contract awarded in late 2024. The future UCAS is intended to complement Rafale rather than replace it, operating as part of a manned-unmanned team. Official programme descriptions point to a stealthy, internally armed platform designed for collaborative combat, with autonomous functions executed under human supervision. Within this context, Harmattan AI’s contribution is less about abstract autonomy and more about enabling reliable, predictable control of unmanned systems as part of a coherent combat formation.
In practical terms, the gains expected from this manned-unmanned pairing lie primarily in workload reduction and time compression. AI-enabled functions can support faster threat detection and classification, assist in route and mission planning to reduce exposure, manage deconfliction between crewed and uncrewed platforms and coordinate effects such as sensing or electronic attack. The emphasis remains on keeping the human crew in command, while ensuring that critical decisions are supported by timely, filtered and relevant information when the pace of combat exceeds what manual processes alone can handle.
Dassault’s involvement also highlights the industrial dimension of the partnership. Beyond investment capital, the group brings its experience in designing and certifying complex military platforms, integrating mission systems for high-intensity operations and supporting long-term sustainment across international fleets. For Harmattan AI, this provides a pathway from rapid innovation to integration into airworthy, certifiable systems that must meet stringent security, export and safety requirements. For Dassault, it ensures access to an AI partner already oriented toward production and deployment rather than laboratory demonstration.
The timing of the agreement is equally significant. By committing substantial resources in 2026, Dassault is effectively pulling key elements of its 2030s air combat architecture into the present. Autonomy and mission AI are no longer treated as future enhancements to be bolted on once platforms are mature, but as foundational capabilities shaping design choices today. This reflects a broader shift in air combat thinking, where success increasingly depends on managing complexity, resilience and decision speed as much as raw platform performance.
The Dassault–Harmattan AI partnership signals a move beyond conceptual discussions of “loyal wingmen” toward a more structured and industrialised model of collaborative combat. If executed as intended, Rafale F5 and the future UCAS will not merely operate side by side, but as tightly integrated elements of a single combat system, sharing data, intent and tasking logic while preserving human authority over the use of force. In an era defined by contested airspace and accelerated decision cycles, this approach illustrates how controlled autonomy is being translated from ambition into an operational reality.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.
