Thales to open third facility in NI
Thales is a French-owned company located in the Castlereagh area of Belfast
- Published
Thales, the French-owned arms company, is to open a third facility in Northern Ireland, MLAs have been told.
On Sunday Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that Thales would supply 5,000 of its lightweight multirole missiles (LMMs) to Ukraine in a deal worth up to £1.6bn
The company currently has a factory in east Belfast and a test facility in County Down.
Thales managing director Nigel MacVean said the company was investing £100m in NI which would include opening at a third site.
A Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter equipped with the Martlet missile system
The company is also planning to recruit 200 additional staff over the next two years.
Speaking to a Stormont committee Mr MacVean said the LMMs were keeping Russian helicopters out of Ukraine and another Thales weapon, the Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (the NLAW), had kept Russian tanks out of Kyiv.
Thales began delivering LMMs to Ukraine at the end of 2024 as part of an initial £162m contract for 650 of the missiles. The new order is in addition to that.
The contract has been placed by the MoD's procurement arm Defence Equipment & Support on behalf of the Ukrainian Government.
It will be funded by a loan underwritten by United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) after a deal signed last year to allow Ukraine to draw on £3.5bn worth of support from UKEF to spend with UK industry.
'Contributing to the defence of Ukraine'
On Wednesday, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said in "global conflicts the ability to defend oneself is absolutely critical".
She said this announcement allowed Thales to continue "contributing to the defence of Ukraine".
"I welcome the fact there is investment that is going to benefit Northern Ireland," she added .
"These are good jobs, at a good wage, it is high-end, it is very skilled."