France’s Directorate General for Armament (DGA) has awarded Airbus a 25-year contract to supply cybersecurity gateways for the networks of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans’ Affairs.
Airbus announced the award of the PARACOM contract on September 23, 2026. According to the company, its subsidiary, Airbus Cybersecurity SAS, won the contract after a competitive tender. It covers the design, development, production, and long-term operational maintenance of the gateways.
Neither Airbus nor the DGA has disclosed the contract value, the number of gateways to be produced, or a delivery schedule.
PARACOM to protect data flows from secret to unclassified
The gateways sit between networks and information systems that handle data at different classification or sensitivity levels, filtering the exchanges between them. Airbus said PARACOM will be approved and certified for exchanges ranging from secret to unclassified.
Airbus said the gateways will be rolled out across the armed forces and the ministry’s directorates and departments, both at fixed ministry sites and in theaters of operations.
The company plans several versions: units integrated into data center racks, self-contained units for command posts and variants for constrained tactical environments. Airbus listed aircraft, helicopters, and drones among the intended platforms.
Airbus linked the requirement to the growing digitalization of military operations and the threats that come with it. It described the ability to filter data flows as a major priority for the armed forces.
Airbus builds on earlier French military connectivity contracts
“Since 2013, we have supplied French land forces with gateway solutions,” said François Lombard, Director of Connected Intelligence at Airbus Defence and Space.
The award adds to a series of DGA contracts with Airbus centered on military connectivity. In October 2023, the agency contracted Airbus to upgrade the French Air and Space Force A330 MRTT Phénix tanker fleet to the Standard 2 configuration. The upgrade includes a satellite communications antenna that provides access to the SYRACUSE IV military constellation.