Ajay Chakravarthy, Chief AI Officer at Thales, explains how frugal AI, quantum computing and human-machine teaming will define defence systems
THALES IN THE UK
Ajay Chakravarthy, Chief AI Officer at Thales, explains how frugal AI, quantum computing and human-machine teaming will define defence systems
The defence and security sector faces a different set of constraints than consumer AI. Systems need to work in harsh environments with minimal resources, often disconnected from the cloud, running on limited power and hardware. Thales calls this approach frugal AI and the company has already deployed systems that meet these requirements in military operations.
Ajay Chakravarthy, Chief AI Officer at Thales, has spent two decades working in AI. His career took him from academic research at the University of Sheffield through roles as Chief Scientist of the AI Lab at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory( Dstl) in Porton Down and Chief Scientific and Technical Officer for Counter Terrorism Policing, where he learned the difference between prototypes that demonstrate capability and systems that operate under pressure.
“ There’ s all the research you can do and all the prototypes you can create in AI, but then you really need to deploy it to the frontline,” Ajay says.“ Moving from minimum viable product or proofof concept through to taking it to the frontline is a completely different process.
52 February 2026