Airbus Taps Iliad's Scaleway for Cloud Services in European 'Digital Sovereignty' Push

Airbus has awarded a multi-year cloud infrastructure contract to Scaleway, a subsidiary of French telecom firm Iliad, to host sensitive industrial and defense applications. The partnership underscores a broader European corporate push for "digital sovereignty" and will support the aerospace giant's artificial intelligence development with French startup Mistral.

The Agreement

Under the terms of the deal announced Thursday, Scaleway's cloud platform will host critical Airbus operations, including applications for aircraft design, engineering, industrial production, and corporate functions. The move is directly linked to Airbus's partnership with AI firm Mistral, which was established in May to co-develop specialized AI tools for the aerospace and defense sectors.

"The fact that the Mistral models are already deployed on Scaleway infrastructure will allow us to accelerate our AI approach," Airbus Chief Digital Officer Catherine Jestin told reporters. Airbus intends to use Mistral's technology for military applications and certified aviation systems, where it prefers European partners to handle sensitive data and intellectual property.

A Strategic Push for Digital Sovereignty

The selection of a European cloud provider is a strategic decision for Airbus, reflecting a growing focus among European governments and corporations on controlling sensitive data. This trend, known as digital sovereignty, aims to reduce reliance on non-European technology providers for critical infrastructure, particularly amid concerns over foreign government access to data.

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Jestin confirmed that Scaleway was chosen after an evaluation of more than 150 technical and legal requirements. She specifically highlighted criteria aimed at protecting against "the kill switch and against the application of extraterritorial laws." This corporate strategy aligns with policy initiatives like the European Commission's proposed Cloud and AI Development Act, which seeks to bolster the continent's domestic cloud computing capabilities.

Scope and Implementation

Airbus plans a multi-year migration of its applications to the new platform, with a clear roadmap for the transition. Key details of the rollout include:

• Approximately 70 critical applications are scheduled to be migrated by the end of 2028.
• The broader program could potentially encompass up to 900 applications over the next five to six years.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed by either company.