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Written by Or Shalom
Milipol Paris 2025, held in Paris on November 18th-21st, 2025, presented an impressive high-level snapshot of the entire homeland security and safety (HLS) spectrum – from AI and drone-based solutions for advanced missions, to cutting-edge biometric, identification, and access control systems. The event, hosted at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, is considered a central international forum for showcasing innovation, fostering cooperation, and shaping the future of security forces. It also constitutes an indicator for the technological trends when it comes to security.
According to published figures, the exhibition hosted more than 1,100 presenters and over 30,000 international visitors from 160 countries, along with 175 official delegations [1]. Among the themes presented were: solutions for physical security and critical infrastructure security (VMS, perimeter sensors, area control), police and PoliceTech systems including smart patrol vehicles, body cameras, and Less-Lethal equipment, tactical personal armoring, operational communications and mission-critical networks (mission-critical LTE/5G), CBRN capabilities for detecting chemical and biological agents, firefighting and rescue equipment, border security using radars, surveillance systems and cargo-scanning solutions, operational and armored vehicles, operational robotics (EOD, reconnaissance, and rescue), as well as forensic solutions and digital investigation.
Taken together, this broad spectrum positions Milipol as a top-tier arena where all layers of security – physical, digital, biometric, intelligence, and operational – converge into a single holistic concept of modern, multi-dimensional, and evolving homeland security. Within this framework, the following core topics stood out:
Artificial Intelligence in Homeland Security Systems – From Vision to Operational Reality:
The exhibition clearly showed that artificial intelligence has evolved from a technological building block into a central operational capability within global homeland security systems. Over the four days of the exhibition, AI-based systems were presented for smart monitoring, real-time processing of multi-source data, advanced sensing, and data fusion that enables anomaly detection, threat identification, and automated triggering of response processes.
Leading companies demonstrated solutions for advanced facial recognition in complex environments, real-time video analytics in urban spaces, AI-based border security, and the management of emergency situations while integrating data from cameras, sensors, and IoT. The message was clear: AI is no longer only a tool for analysts – it is becoming part of the practical core of operational systems.
At the same time, the exhibition highlighted a new challenge: trust, sovereignty, and accountability in deploying AI within government systems. Alongside live demonstrations in the Demo Arena of real-time AI solutions, critical issues were raised: how to integrate AI into security systems while preserving privacy, how to ensure transparency and the ability to audit decisions, and what digital sovereignty means in an era where security systems rely on advanced algorithms.
The result is that the integration of AI in homeland security is moving up a level and, for the first time, is acquiring a dual dimension – both technological and strategic – with an emphasis on operational implementation alongside responsibility, legality, and compliance with international standards.
The key implications, as reflected at the exhibition, point to a deep paradigm shift in homeland security: AI is transforming from a supporting capability into an essential operational one (including unmanned and autonomous capabilities). Security systems are moving to a data-driven model where sensors, cameras, communications, drones, and IoT feed AI engines that perform data fusion, anomaly detection, threat prediction, and real-time decision-making.
The operational meaning is a fundamental shift from cumbersome human-driven operation toward synchronized, smart, and rapid action – in which humans supervise the algorithms rather than the other way around [2]. At the same time, the exhibition underscored rising regulatory requirements, including transparency, explainability (Explainable AI), protecting privacy, and compliance with international standards such as the EU AI Act and NIST.
A clear trend of digital sovereignty also emerged, as states recognize that dependence on foreign algorithms may jeopardize homeland security and therefore push for secure, local AI development. AI is entering both urban and operational environments – from borders to smart cities – and shaping a new perception of multi-layered, adaptive security. The overall conclusion is straightforward: in the new era, any security system not based on AI will be limited, slow, and vulnerable, while organizations that adopt controlled, sovereign, and operational AI will gain a significant strategic and operational advantage.
The Low Altitude Airspace – Drone and C-UAS Trends at Milipol 2025:
The dramatic growth of drone and counter-UAS (C-UAS) domains at Milipol Paris 2025 stems primarily from a complex geopolitical context: rising regional tensions, proxy warfare (including terrorist use), increasing use of drones in modern conflict zones, and the proliferation of cheap, accessible technologies to non-state actors.
Lessons from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia point to the same emerging operational reality: the drone has become an available, precise, and low-cost weapon capable of penetrating civilian environments, conducting intelligence reconnaissance, delivering logistical payloads, and even serving as a lethal kamikaze platform.
Accordingly, Milipol 2025 highlighted an urgent need to move from point defense to an end-to-end, multi-layered protective envelope that combines sensing, analysis, detection, response, and neutralization in real time. The key exhibition trends indicated two parallel movements: expansion of legitimate and security-related drone use on the one hand, and an accelerated evolution of aerial threats on the other.
On the one hand, drones have become an integral component of homeland security architectures: drones as the first responder (DFR) to incidents, logistical payload missions, support for search and rescue missions, urban monitoring, prolonged surveillance, and operations in difficult-to-access terrain [3].
On the other hand, many displays reflected new modes of warfare: the use of suicide drones, offensive FPV platforms, and the repurposing of commercial drones as improvised kamikaze weapons. From this combination, a central trend stood out across Milipol: building multi-sensor C-UAS arrays (RF, EO/IR, acoustic, and short-range radars), deploying operational algorithms for automatic drone detection and classification, and tightly integrating electronic warfare, kinetic neutralization, and rapid response capabilities.
The presented concept emphasized a shift from handling a single drone to systemic responses tailored to swarms, simultaneous attacks, incursions into civilian areas, and threats to critical infrastructure.
The strategic implications emerging from the exhibition are clear: the low-altitude airspace has become a primary front for homeland security. Security agencies are required to operate standardized drone fleets as part of routine and emergency operations for various missions, including observation, logistics, mapping, and incident management, while also deploying multi-layered C-UAS systems.
These trends require new regulations, the development of doctrines, the creation of dedicated roles, professional training programs, municipal aerial command centers, and the integration of advanced AI layers for real-time threat analysis and interception. The bottom line is that states must adopt a systemic concept of control and defense in low-altitude airspace, combining operational UAV capabilities with advanced C-UAS mechanisms as a fundamental condition for protecting borders, infrastructure, and modern cities.
Solutions – The Next Generation of OSINT – From Open Information to Real-Time Operational Intelligence:
Network intelligence (OSINT) solutions at Milipol Paris 2025 demonstrated a major leap in the ability to transform raw data from open networks into real-time operational intelligence. The central emphasis at the exhibition was on the growing integration of open digital sources – such as social networks, video, audio, photos, public databases, and network traffic – with advanced processing capabilities powered by AI.
The highlighted innovations included systems capable of collecting and analyzing very large-scale data, identifying anomalous patterns, mapping social networks, tracking real-time trends, and alerting to emerging events.
In the field of multimodal media, advanced capabilities stood out: audio transcription, speaker identification, text extraction from video, object recognition in footage, and semantic understanding of content – enabling high-quality intelligence to be extracted from audio-visual sources and not only text (all in real time and without external connectivity, allowing the secure use by law enforcement and security agencies) [4].
In addition, systems were presented that integrate OSINT with geospatial intelligence: detecting movements, geographic patterns, and unusual activity in sensitive areas, alongside analytic tools that fuse open-source information with sensor data, digital forensics, and data fusion capabilities.
The key innovation evident at the exhibition is the shift from OSINT as research to OSINT as an operational function: systems that help security organizations identify emerging threats, understand narratives in real-time, conduct rapid intelligence investigations, and convert information overload into actionable decisions.
This trend aligns with homeland security challenges in the digital age, where events are created and evolve on networks, and AI-driven intelligence becomes a vital component of national response.
Cyber as National Security – From Technical Defense to Smart, Sovereign, Multi-Layered Systems:
Cybersecurity at Milipol Paris 2025 stood out as a core topic and was presented as an inseparable strategic component of modern homeland security architectures. The sharp increase in cyberattacks against public institutions, national infrastructures, and international organizations reinforces the need for solutions, innovations, and inter-organizational coordination in order to protect infrastructures and sovereign institutions.
The exhibition highlighted that cyber is no longer just an IT layer but a critical pillar in protecting smart cities, transportation systems, government networks, energy and water infrastructure, and emergency systems – all as part of the broader homeland security ecosystem.
Within the conference program, regulatory aspects were also emphasized: requirements for transparency, safety, accountability, and compliance with AI-related standards as part of how states must manage systems with real-time analytic, detection, and predictive capabilities.
Additional trends that emerged included a shift toward multi-layered defense architectures against advanced threats, a widespread use of AI for anomaly detection and response-time reduction, and a strong focus on digital sovereignty – the need for national control over data, software, and supply chains in the cyber domain.
Alongside this, a pattern of expanding international cooperation was evident: cyber-intelligence sharing, joint alert systems, and the creation of unified methodologies for protecting critical infrastructures.
Milipol 2025 highlights that cyber has become a central pillar of global homeland security strategy in an environment where attacks are occurring at an increasing pace. States are required to move from passive defenses to proactive, smart, and sovereign systems capable of handling evolving threats in real-time.
Conclusion
Milipol Paris 2025 illustrates that the worlds of HLS and DefenseTech are at a strategic turning point: shifting from separate technological domains – such as cyber, drones, biometrics, robotics, intelligence, and AI – toward an integrated, multi-layered, multi-domain security architecture.
The trends highlighted at the exhibition indicate that the gap between military and civilian systems is narrowing, and DefenseTech technologies are penetrating deeply into homeland security missions – from infrastructure and border protection to urban monitoring, real-time threat detection, and complex event management.
The practical implication is an accelerated demand for solutions that are not only innovative, but also sovereign, secure, and operational – solutions that generate a strategic advantage for the states and organizations that adopt them.
In terms of opportunities, Milipol 2025 outlines a rapidly growing market for entrepreneurs, investors, and technology companies: closing the gap between tactical and strategic AI, expanding the C-UAS domain, consolidating OSINT as an operational intelligence engine, raising international regulatory requirements (NIST, EU AI Act), and an increasing need for digital sovereignty – all of which create clear windows of opportunity for young companies, startups, and innovative vendors.
The intersection between DefenseTech and HLS is opening new markets, shortening sales cycles, and increasing demand for integrative solutions that can move quickly from test labs to the operational field.
In summary, Milipol 2025 itself attests that the future of homeland security and national defense will be driven by AI technologies, autonomy, multi-layered sensing, and sovereign solutions, granting a clear advantage to players who understand the need to connect innovation, operational capability, and adherence to advanced regulatory frameworks.
The author is a security, cyber and HLS technology expert and consultant to government ministries and defense industries. He holds a master’s degree, as well as civil and national qualifications in the realm of HLS and Cyber Security. He has experience in consultation and business development for security companies and groups in matters of planning and building defense, innovation and security technology, exercises, and training in security and cyber.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA2TlXDD_Ug, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqnMJzSyrJ4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpepWKK5v6o, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpDTzqeQ8GA
[2] https://i-hls.com/archives/127870
[3] https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/saver/drone-first-responder
[4] Multimodal media is media that contains more than one type of information – for example, a combination of video, audio, text, images, speech, movement, location, and more – all of which are analyzed together to generate intelligence or insights
