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15/01/2014
£100m Weapons Contract Announced
David Cameron has announced a weapons export contract worth over £100m for Thales Air Defence.
Thales, based in Belfast and Crossgar, County Down, designs and manufactures missiles within the Thales Group.
The new export order for ForceSHIELD, Thales’ integrated Advanced Air Defence system, includes STARStreak short range air defence missiles and RAPIDRanger vehicle-based launcher systems.
All are designed, developed and manufactured in Northern Ireland.
The company, which is part of Thales’ Land and Air Systems operations, employs around 500 people at its design and manufacturing facility in Belfast and at its integration facility at Crossgar.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "This valuable contract represents a break through in Air Defence sales for Thales UK and will help sustain jobs at the firm’s sites in Northern Ireland.
"Thales operates at the cutting edge of engineering and has benefited from Invest Northern Ireland support over the years to develop and extend its design capabilities, manufacturing skills and meet the needs of international customers."
In October, Thales UK confirmed it had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for a further 200 STARStreak short-range surface-to-air missiles.
Alliance East Belfast MLA Judith Cochrane: "This contract will help secure jobs at Thales’ east Belfast site.
"It shows that Northern Ireland can play a part in international business deals. This contract will be a big boost to the local and wider Northern Ireland economy. It is the latest in a number of positive signs for our economy following major deals and job announcements at companies including Bombardier and Stream Global Services.
"In 2012, Thales made 50 of its employees redundant, so I hope this contract will help sustain the employment of its workers in east Belfast."
(IT/MH)
Thales, based in Belfast and Crossgar, County Down, designs and manufactures missiles within the Thales Group.
The new export order for ForceSHIELD, Thales’ integrated Advanced Air Defence system, includes STARStreak short range air defence missiles and RAPIDRanger vehicle-based launcher systems.
All are designed, developed and manufactured in Northern Ireland.
The company, which is part of Thales’ Land and Air Systems operations, employs around 500 people at its design and manufacturing facility in Belfast and at its integration facility at Crossgar.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "This valuable contract represents a break through in Air Defence sales for Thales UK and will help sustain jobs at the firm’s sites in Northern Ireland.
"Thales operates at the cutting edge of engineering and has benefited from Invest Northern Ireland support over the years to develop and extend its design capabilities, manufacturing skills and meet the needs of international customers."
In October, Thales UK confirmed it had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for a further 200 STARStreak short-range surface-to-air missiles.
Alliance East Belfast MLA Judith Cochrane: "This contract will help secure jobs at Thales’ east Belfast site.
"It shows that Northern Ireland can play a part in international business deals. This contract will be a big boost to the local and wider Northern Ireland economy. It is the latest in a number of positive signs for our economy following major deals and job announcements at companies including Bombardier and Stream Global Services.
"In 2012, Thales made 50 of its employees redundant, so I hope this contract will help sustain the employment of its workers in east Belfast."
(IT/MH)
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Belfast Firm Wins £48m Missile Contract
Thales UK has secured a £48m deal for the design and manufacture of missiles for the UK Ministry of Defence. The Belfast-based manufacturer, which also has operations in Crossgar, County Down, won the contract for the demonstration and manufacture of the Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Light) system.
Belfast Firm Wins £48m Missile Contract
Thales UK has secured a £48m deal for the design and manufacture of missiles for the UK Ministry of Defence. The Belfast-based manufacturer, which also has operations in Crossgar, County Down, won the contract for the demonstration and manufacture of the Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Light) system.
23 January 2009
Multi-Million Pound Deal Welcomed At Thales
Despite a gloomy outlook on the economy nationally - with a UK recession officially confirmed today - there's good news for a specialist engineering company in east Belfast. Thales Air Defence, formerly Shorts Missile Systems, has won a £200m Ministry of Defence contract and will supply part of the Starstreak missile system to the MoD until 2020.
Multi-Million Pound Deal Welcomed At Thales
Despite a gloomy outlook on the economy nationally - with a UK recession officially confirmed today - there's good news for a specialist engineering company in east Belfast. Thales Air Defence, formerly Shorts Missile Systems, has won a £200m Ministry of Defence contract and will supply part of the Starstreak missile system to the MoD until 2020.
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Thales win multi-million pound missile deal
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