Under the European Defense Fund (EDF), Thales is leading the EISNET (European Interactive Sensor-Based Dynamic Defense Network) consortium, which includes 23 partners from industry, research centers, and universities across twelve EU Member States.
The project aims to enhance the responsiveness, resilience, and performance of Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) systems to protect the European Union from threats such as drone swarms and hypersonic missiles.
Co-funded by the EDF, participating member states, and industry investments, EISNET will develop a European collaborative architecture to integrate current and future IAMD systems.
The project was launched in January 2025, bringing together 65 high-level representatives from European industry, research centers, and universities. It will focus on establishing common standards, developing prototypes, and designing demonstration scenarios.
EISNET will define and test next-generation real-time network protocols, known as the EISNET Architecture Framework Tool (EAFT), to enable seamless communication between European radars, passive sensors, and command & control systems from different manufacturers and countries. The system’s smart dynamic management will enhance performance, scalability, responsiveness, and resilience for both new and legacy IAMD systems in complex air and missile threat scenarios.
By integrating these capabilities and improving communication speed, the project aims to reduce command chain latency in response to high-velocity attacks, massive fire saturation, and stealth threats. EISNET’s goal is to develop an open standard that ensures full interoperability between all IAMD suppliers.
Raphaël Desi, Vice-President of Integrated Airspace Protection Systems at Thales, stated: “Air superiority is decisive in today’s warfare in order to protect our countries and citizens. EISNET paves the way for a new generation of Integrated Air Missile Defense. Together, in this Thales-led consortium, we will boost European air defense.”