The Rafale Programme: 70 Data Sources Unified into a Single Digital Truth
During the exhibition, Morgan Zimmermann, CEO of 3DEXPERIENCE, passionately emphasized that AI must be applied directly to the intellectual capital already structured within the virtual twin to deliver genuine impact. When industry skeptics demand mature, industrial proof, Dassault pulls out its absolute trump card: the French fighter jet programme, Rafale.
Dassault Aviation’s Rafale programme is not merely a symbol of French defence capability; it is perhaps the most extreme example of a fully realized digital thread in modern industrial history.
Zimmermann revealed that they were forced to integrate and orchestrate over 70 different data sources—scattered across decades of legacy systems, diverse engineering disciplines, manufacturing units, and supply chains—to build a single, cohesive virtual twin.
This is no static 3D model. It is a living, digital representation that reflects not only the aircraft’s physical geometry but its exact behaviors, modifications, and status throughout its entire lifecycle—from early development and production to operational deployment in the field. It is precisely against this colossal, structured database that Dassault’s AI applications are now being deployed. Knowledge workers, engineers, and decision-makers across hundreds of different roles can navigate the twin in real time to predict maintenance requirements, simulate combat scenarios, and optimize upgrades. For the industry, Zimmermann argues, Rafale represents the definitive proof: virtual twins are no longer a future vision—they are an operational necessity in modern warfare.
The platform’s capacity to deliver at the brutal tempo demanded by today’s market was further highlighted by a panel of highly compelling startups, including Destinus, Harmattan AI, TEKEVER, and Vertical Aerospace. The experiences of these companies, operating in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, demonstrate that virtual twins and advanced simulation are absolutely critical for running thousands of iterations before a design is frozen, as well as for rapidly integrating third-party models to meet complex military and regulatory certification requirements.
Shared Software DNA—From Fusion Reactors to Bottle Caps
One of the most notable highlights at Farnborough was the presentation of 3D UNIV+RSES (pronounced ”3D Universes”), which launched in February this year as Dassault’s seventh-generation representation of the world.
CIMdata notes in its commentary that during an engaging panel discussion with representatives from vastly different sectors—including Michiel van den Besselaar (OMRON), Owain Mortimer (SMMT), Debbie Kempton (UK Fusion Energy), and Daniel Stokes (Unilever Packaging)—a fascinating insight crystallized. The panelists openly joked about the fact that they were utilizing the exact same software solutions in identical ways to achieve their business objectives. It simply does not matter whether the virtual twin and AI engine are applied to an electronic control system, an automotive component, a British fusion energy plant, or a sustainable bottle cap for Unilever. The underlying PLM architecture remains identical, demonstrating a truly monumental scalability in Dassault’s platform philosophy.
A Matter of Life and Death: When Shadow AI Threatens Defence Secrets
CIMdata also engaged in several compelling discussions, notably with David Ziegler, Vice President Aerospace & Defense at Dassault Systèmes. It was a conversation that laid bare just how dramatically customer dialogues have shifted in the space of only a few years, whipped up by a tempest of geopolitical volatility and AI hype.
Ziegler was highly transparent regarding the company’s core priorities. While emphasis remains firmly on OEMs and their supplier base, the defence sector is set to dominate the agenda over the coming years. Geographically, the US and Europe remain the principal core markets, but Dassault is observing robust growth in Asia—particularly in South Korea and India. On the solutions front, AI and absolute data sovereignty sit at the very top of the agenda. Ziegler did not hide the fact that AI is anticipated to become a major revenue engine for the company moving forward.
Yet every coin has a flip side, and customer anxieties are palpable. According to Ziegler, many aerospace and defence clients are currently grappling with three formidable challenges:
- The Geopolitical Scales: Enterprises are increasingly forced to re-evaluate their strategic equilibrium, rapidly pivoting operations between commercial ventures and dedicated defence contracts.
- Data Sovereignty as a Non-Negotiable Mandate: Sovereignty has ceased to be an optional policy consideration. It has become a stringent requirement at both national and corporate levels to guarantee absolute dominion over proprietary intellectual property (IP) in an era rife with cyber threats.
- AI Frustration and the Spectre of Shadow AI: Numerous corporate boards are experiencing profound frustration at having invested heavily in AI without yet realizing a clear return on investment (ROI). Concurrently, anxiety is mounting over the rise of ”Shadow AI”—instances where employees surreptitiously upload sensitive enterprise files into public generative tools like ChatGPT or Copilot. In highly classified defence projects, this introduces immediate risks of catastrophic data leakage.
World-Class Engineering—But Can the Industry Afford It?
There is no denying that the global aerospace and defence industry is navigating a historic watershed moment. A completely fresh value landscape is taking shape at the seamless convergence of the virtual and physical worlds, propelled by next-generation simulation and autonomous AI agents. The full-day immersion with Dassault Systèmes at Farnborough left a powerful impression on CIMdata. Orchestrating the integration of 70 separate data sources within the Rafale fighter jet into a functional, AI-driven virtual truth is a technological triumph of absolute world-class standing.
