Azernews.Az

by Alimat Aliyeva

France is developing its own artificial intelligence-based combat planning system intended as an alternative to the American Maven Smart System platform developed by Palantir Technologies, AzerNEWS reports.

This was announced by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the French Army, General Patrick Justel.

According to him, the Maven system “does not receive unanimous approval even within the United States,” which is one of the reasons France is pursuing an independent solution that is already attracting interest from several European partners.

The French project, named Arcadia, is built on a new large language model called Berthier, named after Napoleon’s Chief of Staff, Louis-Alexandre Berthier (1753–1815). The system reflects France’s broader ambition to strengthen strategic autonomy in defense technologies and reduce reliance on non-European digital infrastructure.

Arcadia is designed to process and analyze real-time battlefield data, generate operational recommendations, and support commanders in decisions related to targeting, troop deployment, and mission planning. It also integrates communication streams across different levels of command, improving coordination and situational awareness.

Unlike the more centralized American approach, Arcadia is designed as a decentralized and modular system, allowing it to be adapted for interoperability with the military platforms of other European countries.

Interestingly, defense analysts note that such systems are part of a broader shift toward “AI-assisted warfare,” where human commanders increasingly rely on machine-generated scenario simulations. This raises ongoing discussions in Europe about the balance between automation, accountability, and human control in military decision-making.

It is reported that Arcadia has already undergone field testing in Romania and was also evaluated during large-scale NATO-related exercises such as Orion, where it demonstrated its ability to rapidly process complex multi-source battlefield information.