Free to get lost in the moment

Turning signals into insight 
| minute read

On a warm summer evening, thousands of people stand together in a field, looking towards the stage. 

None of them are thinking about the air above them. And that is exactly how it should be. 

Because keeping an event, prison, port or other sensitive location safe increasingly means understanding what you cannot see. Small, sophisticated drones can enter protected airspace.  

The challenge is not simply detecting one. It is understanding what the different signals are telling you. 

That is where Sopra Steria’s Boreades comes in.

One sky. Many signal 

A radar detects something moving. A camera captures an image. Another sensor detects a signal. Each gives you part of the picture. 

The operational challenge is bringing those observations together: Is it a drone? Which one? What is it doing? How serious is the threat? And what should happen next? 

Boreades connects different sensors in a command-and-control environment, where AI can help analyse what is detected. It turns separate observations into one operational picture, giving the people in the command room the context they need to assess the situation and decide what to do. 

The model supports the judgement. People remain responsible for the decision. 

Built to evolve 

The challenge is not standing still. Drone capabilities change. New sensors emerge. New effectors become available. 

That is why Boreades is built around open standards. Different sensors, detectors and effectors can be connected and exchanged as the technology evolves. Organisations can improve individual components without having to replace the system around them. 

Don't build a system for what exists today. Build one that can adapt to what comes next. 

Proven in the real world 

Boreades has been developed since 2015 and is already operational in more than fifty systems in France and internationally. It has been used in military and civilian environments, including major events and sensitive locations. During the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024, it helped protect the airspace around eighteen locations. 

That track record matters. In a rapidly changing environment, security technology needs to be proven and able to evolve. 

From one picture to a wider picture 

The same principle can extend beyond one location. When systems are connected, separate operational pictures can become part of a wider picture. Information can be shared across locations, helping organisations understand what is happening across a more complex airspace. 

This is increasingly important as air, defence and space become more connected, and as satellites, sensors and communication systems contribute to the picture. 

Sopra Steria’s role is to bring those different parts together. Not to own every sensor or make every decision, but to make the complexity usable for the people responsible for security. 

The value is not more information. It is better context. And ultimately, better context gives people more confidence to act. 

Security that stays in the background 

A child watching the lights above a festival stage. A stadium erupting after a goal. Thousands of people sharing a summer evening. 

They do not need to know what is happening in the air above them. 

The people protected by this technology may not be the ones operating it. They are the reason it is there. 

The value of counter-drone technology is not how much complexity it can handle. It is how confidently the people responsible for safety can handle that complexity - while everyone else stays free to get lost in the moment. 

To protect what’s precious. 

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