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TERATEC 2025 Forum The European meeting for Experts in High Power Digital Simulation . HPC/HPDA . Artificial Intelligence . Quantum Computing

Keynote Wednesday May 21, 2025 - Parc Floral de Paris

High-performance digital technologies for aeronautics
Pascale Lohat
Chief Technical Officer, Dassault Aviation

Digital simulation and artificial intelligence (AI) play a crucial role for Dassault Aviation, a world leader in the design, manufacture and in-service support of business aircraft and air combat systems.

These digital technologies are essential to our role as the architect of our Falcon business jets, our Rafale and Mirage in-service military aircraft and our future air combat systems projects, as well as our space aircraft projects. The elaboration of new concepts based on efficient technologies, and the design, development and certification of aircraft all rely on high-fidelity modelling that pushes computing capacities to their limits.

HPC digital simulation enables aircraft performance to be tested virtually in the early stages of development programmes. It replaces the construction of physical models and complements experimental analyses. Digital simulation is used extensively in disciplines such as aerodynamics, structure, electromagnetics and infrared, flight control and flight performance.

The challenges are to stimulate innovation to prepare for the future, to increase competitiveness by improving quality from the preliminary design phases and reducing development cycles, and to better meet customer expectations. On the Falcon 6X, this approach has made it possible to maximise cabin comfort while guaranteeing aircraft performance at the highest level. In the defence sector, simulation can be used to learn complex multiphysics trade-offs to ensure the versatility of the Rafale and its multiple payload configurations, to integrate numerous systems and ensure their electromagnetic compatibility, and to achieve top-level radar and infrared stealth characteristics.

Approaches combining HPC computing with AI models obtained by learning offer new prospects. These include
AI modelling of turbulence in Navier-Stokes tools and approaches using AI for structural analysis and justification.

The Teratec community federates skills around these different challenges. Joining forces with the best level of expertise in digital technologies is a prerequisite for getting the most out of the computers of the future, whether they incorporate massively parallel multi-core architectures, GPU/XPU acceleration or quantum processors.

Biography: Pascale Lohat has been Chief Technical Officer of Dassault Aviation since 1 January 2024. She is the first woman to be appointed to this position. She is also a member of the company's Management Committee. Pascale Lohat graduated from ENST Paris in 1986 and joined Dassault Aviation the same year. She initially worked on stealth and electromagnetic vulnerability issues as part of the Mirage 2000 and Rafale programmes. She then took on broader responsibilities within the Rafale programme. In 2018, she became technical manager for the MALE UAV programme, then for the Future Air Combat System (SCAF) programme, before taking over as SCAF programme manager in 2020. She was appointed Deputy Chief Technical Officer in 2021. Married with 3 children, Pascale Lohat is a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

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