French defense contractor Thales has revealed it would construct a third facility in Northern Ireland.
An update from BBC said that Thales Managing Director Nigel MacVean verified an investment of 100 million pounds ($128.7 million) in Northern Ireland, a portion of which will be used to establish the company’s new infrastructure in the region.
Once inaugurated, the center will operate alongside Thales’ existing production facility in the east of Belfast and test site in County Down.
It will be managed by 200 personnel that the firm will hire over the next two years.
The announcement comes after the UK’s approximately $2-billion award to the company earlier this month to manufacture 5,000 of its proprietary lightweight multirole missiles for Ukraine in response to Russia’s illegal invasion.
Air Defense Support for UK-Ukraine Alliance
Thales’ latest industrial project followed the organization’s partnership with a Ukrainian company in November 2024 to jointly produce counter-drone missiles for the Eastern European country’s armed forces.
In September 2024, the UK signed a deal with Thales to supply an initial tranche of lightweight multirole missiles for Ukraine. Parts of this package had already been delivered to Kyiv before the year ended.
Two months earlier, the Ukrainian defense agency announced a contract to procure an advanced air defense system from Thales.
The company received another contract in July to provide lightweight multirole missiles for the UK’s own military.
