Interview with Clément Bouriaud at Alta Ares

What are your expectations for UAV SHOW? 

Our aim is to meet key players in the French drone industry, including institutional, industrial and operational stakeholders, to showcase Alta Ares’ capabilities in onboard AI and autonomous systems. 

We want to engage with decision-makers and system integrators to better understand their concrete requirements, identify industrial partners for integration on existing platforms, and strengthen our presence within the French and European ecosystem. 

Which new products and/or solutions will you be showcasing?

Alta Ares develops onboard AI solutions for drones, from software through to complete systems. We will be showcasing: 

• Pixel Lock: AI-based terminal guidance in EO/IR, with automatic target detection, lock-on and tracking, designed to be integrated onto third-party platforms.
• Gamma: wide-area search and detection solution.
• X-Lock: VTOL interceptor dedicated to counter-drone operations (C-UAS).
• Blackbird: fixed-wing interceptor dedicated to counter-drone operations (C-UAS). 

In your view, what are the current and future challenges facing the drone industry?

• Sovereignty and scaling up: producing at scale in France and Europe, with controlled supply chains for key components such as electronics, optics and computing systems.
• Resilience against jamming: onboard autonomy and navigation without GNSS or a continuous data link are becoming essential.
• Counter-drone technology: the growing threat posed by low-cost, mass-deployed drones calls for cost-effective countermeasures.
• Short innovation cycles: bringing operational feedback closer to the development process and adapting procurement and qualification procedures to iterations of just a few weeks.
• Cooperation between start-ups, major companies and institutions: combining the software agility of start-ups with the industrial capabilities of larger organisations.