Thales to Lead European Project on Network Programming Technologies Our Bureau 1523 Thales has been selected by the European Defence Agency to lead the large-scale Softanet (Ad Hoc B) project on network programming and orchestration technologies. Softanet will provide closer insights into the use of the latest virtualisation technologies for communication networks. It is a major step in preparing forces for developments in deployable and tactical networks and the adoption of programmable network technologies, software-defined networking (SDN) models and 5G. Softanet is the first project at European level to focus on network programming and orchestration technologies for defence applications. It is a collaborative project by France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Led by Thales, the project brings together major European defence players, including Airbus, Radmor and Rohde & Schwarz, as well as SMEs and research institutes, and aims to strengthen defence industry cooperation between European nations.