Three artificial-intelligence startups built on technology developed by Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) made their international debut this week at Eurosatory in Paris, as the United Arab Emirates presses its push to build sovereign AI capabilities for defence and security.
The companies — TACTICA AI, SIRBAI and CENTAURE.AI — were shown for the first time at the land-and-air defence exhibition, which runs from June 15 to 19 at the Paris Nord Villepinte centre and ranks among the world’s largest events for the land defence and security industry. Each targets a different operational problem: decision intelligence, coordinated autonomy and AI-driven security operations.
TII, the applied-research arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, said the trio are designed to turn fragmented intelligence, sensor and operational data into real-time decision support. The systems draw on geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), open-source intelligence (OSINT), video feeds, sensors and historical records to build a single operational picture, the institute said, while keeping humans in control of critical decisions — with AI used to interpret, recommend and coordinate rather than to act on its own.
“The UAE and France share a belief that the next era of AI must be sovereign, responsible and built on trusted scientific foundations,” said Dr. Najwa Aaraj, chief executive of TII. “At Eurosatory, we are showing how deep science can move from the lab into mission-critical environments, where AI can interpret complexity, connect fragmented data and support faster decisions. These systems are designed to recommend and coordinate, while keeping human judgement at the centre.”
The three address distinct needs. TACTICA AI is pitched as a decision-intelligence platform that fuses data, geospatial intelligence and generative reasoning to cut decision latency in fast-moving operations. SIRBAI focuses on coordinated autonomy, managing fleets of autonomous systems — including swarm-enabled capabilities — to reduce operator workload while leaving people to set the mission intent. CENTAURE.AI turns existing cameras, sensors and surveillance systems into what it calls a context-aware security ecosystem that can detect threats and recommend or carry out responses.
The debut also underscores deepening UAE–France technology ties. It follows a 2025 framework for cooperation between the two countries spanning AI infrastructure, research and talent, and coincides with the European expansion of UAE defence group EDGE through a new Paris office. TII said the startups form part of a growing pipeline of UAE deep-tech capabilities feeding EDGE’s defence and security ecosystem, while also addressing demand elsewhere.
The companies have roots in TII’s wider research base. SIRBAI, which specialises in autonomous and swarm technologies, was folded into TII earlier and has signed a partnership with EDGE to explore AI-powered swarming for unmanned aerial systems. TACTICA AI emerged earlier in 2026 as a platform for mission-critical, real-time operational decisions.
For the UAE, the Eurosatory showing is as much a statement of intent as a product launch. By taking home-grown defence AI to one of the industry’s biggest stages — and framing it around human oversight and sovereign control of the underlying science — Abu Dhabi is positioning itself as a builder, rather than only a buyer, in a global defence-AI market where governments are increasingly wary of ceding autonomy to machines. Detailed specifications, pricing and deployment timelines for the three platforms were not disclosed.
