The European Commission has recently signed a Grant Agreement to initiate the Land Tactical Collaborative Combat (LATACC) project, coordinated by Thales. This project aims to enhance the collaborative capabilities of European coalition forces. The initiative brings together a significant consortium of 34 industry players and research institutes, including major entities such as Thales, Rheinmetall, Leonardo, Indra, Saab, ISD, and John Cockerill Defense, from 13 European countries. The LATACC project is backed by €49 million funding from the European Defence Fund.
In response to the resurgence of high-intensity conflicts, LATACC seeks to develop a solution that will optimize and expedite the decision-making and response processes of allied forces, aiming to ensure operational superiority on the battlefield. The project focuses on enabling various land combat systems developed by each Member State, like France’s Scorpion programme and Germany’s DLBO, to coordinate their actions efficiently in a coalition. This coordination also extends to interfacing with other domains, including air, space, and cyber, as well as civil systems like 5G networks.
Thales, leading the LATACC project, brings together a team of experts with a rich experience in complex land systems. The project will leverage the innovative capabilities of its partners in areas such as cloud technologies, communication, sensors, complex systems integration, robotics, effectors, AI, and system resilience in constrained environments.
Over the next three years, the consortium will analyze European user requirements, conduct studies to identify common operational scenarios, define interoperable open architectures compatible with current and future standards, and develop key technological components for advanced technology demonstrators. These will be tested under realistic operational conditions and in large-scale demonstrations to validate the tactical advantages of land collaborative combat in European coalition operations.
A potential second phase of the LATACC project may focus on developing additional functionalities and maturing the key components developed in the initial phase. This initiative is set to establish a European framework and tactical-level collaboration services to expedite innovation, enhance interoperability between national programs, and support cooperations like the future European tanks project. Moreover, it aims to protect the sovereignty of the European industry in the field of collaborative combat and the vital technologies necessary to realize this concept.
The LATACC project represents a significant collaboration among a vast array of industry players, institutional partners, and government agencies. This consortium addresses a complex and strategically important topic for the European defense community, aiming to improve the collaborative capabilities of armed forces at various levels, from brigade command posts to combat vehicles, dismounted soldiers, and unmanned assets in high-intensity conflicts. The project’s scope includes enhancing existing systems, developing new technologies, and integrating them into a unified European framework.
Part of the funding will come from the European Defence Fund, an investment by the EU of €832 million in defence industrial projects.
The partners include providers of robots and AI:
- Thales France (Coordinator), Spain, Belgium, and Netherlands
- Rheinmetall Electronics Germany and Norway
- Leonardo Italy
- Indra Spain
- Saab Sweden
- Isd Greece
- John Cockerill Defence Belgium
- Milrem Estonia
- Ait Austria
- Bpti Lithuania
- Teleplan Globe Norway
- Tno Netherlands
- Stam Italy
- Sener Aeroespacial Spain
- Clavister Sweden
- Mbda Italy
- Helsing Germany
- Blackned Germany
- Elettronica Italy
- Nexter France
- Safran E&D France
- Green Communications France
- Tns Mars France
- Eviden Bull Sas France
- Larimart Italy
Subcontractors:
- Intracom Defence Greece
- Zmt Poland
Image: Thales
