Atermes pitches layered surveillance for GCC critical infrastructure

French defence and security technology company Atermes has used the Gulf market as a platform to articulate its case for persistent, layered surveillance architectures at critical infrastructure sites. Speaking ahead of the regional security event season, the company outlined how electro-optical, infrared, radar and radio-frequency systems, brought together under a unified command-and-control layer, can improve situational awareness for operators managing large or remote installations.

The argument is directed squarely at GCC governments and infrastructure operators who are simultaneously expanding strategic assets, energy plants, airports, ports, logistics hubs and urban megaprojects, and contending with a widening threat surface that includes low-altitude drone incursions.

The technology case

Atermes describes a four-layer model: passive and active detection across visual, thermal, radar and RF spectra; data fusion into a common operating picture; AI-assisted anomaly identification to manage sensor-data volumes; and an optional active response tier that can include interceptor drones for certain aerial threats.

Lionel Thomas, Chairman and Chief Executive of Atermes, said the company's focus is on integration rather than incremental capability additions. "The objective is not to add more individual technologies, but to make different capabilities work together as one coordinated system," he said. "By integrating electro-optical and infrared surveillance, radar, RF detection, AI and command-and-control capabilities, security teams can build a more complete picture of their environment, from initial detection through assessment and response."

The company also flagged the operational environment itself as a design constraint. Gulf sites frequently combine extreme heat, dust, haze and variable visibility, conditions that can degrade any single sensor modality. Mixing complementary technologies is presented as a resilience measure against environmental degradation as much as against adversarial tactics.

Market context

Atermes is not alone in pursuing the GCC critical-infrastructure security market. The region has become a significant procurement target for European, Israeli, South Korean and US defence-electronics firms offering perimeter surveillance, counter-drone and integrated security management platforms. Competitors range from large prime contractors with broad defence portfolios to specialist counter-UAS vendors whose sole focus is detection and defeat of unmanned aerial systems.

The counter-drone segment in particular has attracted substantial investment and a crowded field of entrants. Buyers evaluating layered platforms will weigh factors including export-licence complexity for active countermeasures, software interoperability with existing SCADA and physical security information management systems, and the ability to update AI detection models as drone designs evolve.

Atermes, founded in 1989 and headquartered in France, has operated in the Middle East and Africa for several decades and describes industrial localisation and regional partnership development as central to its Gulf strategy, a positioning that aligns with GCC government procurement policies that increasingly favour technology-transfer and in-country value commitments.

The release does not disclose named customers, contract values, or specific benchmark performance data for any of its sensor or AI subsystems. The company positions artificial intelligence as a triage and attention-management tool rather than an autonomous decision-maker, which is a commercially prudent framing given the sensitivity of active-countermeasure deployments and the absence of a harmonised international regulatory framework governing counter-drone use at civilian infrastructure sites.

Looking ahead, tightening regulatory standards around drone operations in GCC airspace, several member states are updating their civil aviation rules, are likely to increase operator demand for detection and identification systems that can document incursions, even where active defeat capability remains subject to government authorisation.