STORMONT has been told today that French-owned arms company, Thales, is due to open a third manufacturing facility in Northern Ireland.
The announcement comes following Sunday’s press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where he outlined plans for Thales to supply Ukraine with an order of 5,000 lightweight multirole missiles (or LMMs).
Thales currently operates a factory in east Belfast, as well as a test facility in Co. Down. The company’s managing director Nigel MacVean said Thales planned to invest £100 million in Northern Ireland, part of which included opening this third proposed facility.
200 new jobs over the next two years are set to be created in Northern Ireland as a result of the Ukraine deal. Mr MacVean told MLAs at a Stormont committee that LMMs were a vital component in the effort to defend Ukrainian cities from Russian attack helicopters.
Thales also supplies other armaments to Ukraine, including what is known as a Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon (or NLAWs). These, Mr MacVean said, had been deployed on the frontline in Kyiv to repel Russian tanks.
In response to the announcement, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said: “ [In] global conflicts the ability to defend oneself is absolutely critical.”
She called the Thales deal a vital ‘contribution to the defence of Ukraine,’ adding: “I welcome the fact there is investment that is going to benefit Northern Ireland. These are good jobs, at a good wage, it is high-end, it is very skilled.”