Thales and Egypt’s Arab International Optronics (AIO) are strengthening their relationship by establishing a Thales Training academy in Egypt and enhancing cooperation regarding fire control systems, remote weapon stations, radars, and thermal imagers.
Thales made the announcement on 3 December to coincide with the Egypt Defence Exhibition (EDEX) underway in Cairo this week.
“For over 50 years, Thales has stood as a trusted partner of the Arab Republic of Egypt supporting the nation’s vision for growth and sovereignty. This reinforced collaboration is built upon this trust, leveraging the expertise of over 800 dedicated engineers and professionals to develop ‘Made in Egypt’ solutions, Thales said.
At the heart of this partnership, AIO and Thales will deepen their cooperation across six domains, including:
Training: The creation of the Thales Academy in Egypt to develop the expertise of Egyptian Forces, government and civilian institutions in optronics, cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), radio telecommunication and radar. The Thales Academy will feature a set of certified training solutions delivered by Thales-recognised experts and extended cooperation between Egyptian and French universities.
Fire Control Systems (FCS): The development of an upgrade kit for heavy armoured vehicles, multiplying their efficiency on the battlefield, based on the expertise of AIO in Fire Control Systems (FCS) and of Thales in optronics sighting solutions.
Remote Controlled Weapon Systems (RCWS): The development of a laser guided rocket version of the well-known AIO X29 based on AIO expertise in RCWS and Thales expertise in laser guided rockets.
Surveillance: The procurement by the Egypt armed forces of a combat proven solution based on Thales ground radar and Hand-Held Thermal Imager (HHTI). Managed by a unique command and control computer, this man-pack solution allows fast detection and identification of threats, Thales said.
Service Centre: The development within AIO premises of a service centre dedicated to the support of Thales Hand-Held Thermal Imagers deployed within the Egyptian armed forces.
Supply Chain: A deeper collaboration for the integration of AIO supplies and sub-assemblies into Thales’ supply chain that will benefit to both Thales and AIO. This collaboration will increase Thales product throughput and competitiveness, while allowing AIO to develop even further its industrial capabilities.
“With the reinforcement of this strong partnership with AIO, Thales in Egypt proud to contribute to the technological sovereignty of Egypt. By further anchoring Thales’ advanced solutions within Egypt, both our companies are committed to transforming Egypt into a regional technology hub, capable of supporting and exporting high-value, locally produced solutions to Egypt and other markets,” said Sherif Barakat, CEO Thales in Egypt.
Arab International Optronics provides equipment like advanced optical/electro-optical devices, laser systems, precision electronics, remote control weapon systems, integrated systems, and fire control systems. It supplies the Egyptian military as well as exports to allied nations.
Thales has been providing Egypt with sovereign capabilities in defence, civil aviation, space, enterprise and cybersecurity markets since 1973. It employs 800 people across four sites in Egypt and has created two joint ventures: Arab International Optronics, established by Thales and the National Service Products Organization (NSPO) in 1982 to locally manufacture optical and optronic equipment; and Thales Benha Electronics for Electronic Industries S.A.E (TBEI), a joint venture formed in 2024 in collaboration with Benha Electronics, which assembles thousands of VHF radios for the Egyptian Armed Forces.
In the naval domain, Thales supplies radar and communication systems for warships and frigates and in the air domain, Thales provides electronic equipment for the Rafale, Alpha Jet and Mirage 2000 jets. On land, Thales offers radar systems, air defence solutions, and radio communication equipment. On the civil aviation side, Thales Air Traffic Management systems and equipment cover 70% of Egypt’s territory. Thales has two satellites (Nilesat 301 and Tiba-1) in orbit for Egypt.
For Egypt’s Fast Missile Craft, Thales provides its Scout and MRR-3D ES radars, Link ASN 150, LinkYE, Link 14, and Link 11 datalinks, identification, friend or foe (IFF) identification systems, Tacticos combat management system and Sting optronic director. On Egypt’s Meko frigates, Thales has installed its Scorpion 2 electronic warfare system and NS-110 4D active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, ALTSSE-H Communication Electronic Support Measures/Communications Intelligence system, and Mirador Mk 2 electro-optical system.
According to Thales, its equipment and weapons account for 20% of the value of Egypt’s FREMM frigates, and 24% of the value of the country’s Rafale fighter jets. Thales equips the Rafale with the RBE2 active electronically scanned array (AESA), SPECTRA electronic warfare system, optronics, the communication, navigation, identification suite, avionics, and the power generation systems.
For the FREMM frigates, Thales provides the Herakles multi-function radar, the communication suite, the anti-submarine sonar suite, the Artemis infrared search & track system (IRST) and the electronic warfare system (RESM/CESM).
On the landward side, Egypt has amongst others acquired Squire ground surveillance radars from Thales, which can detect people at a distance of 10 kilometres. The Egyptian Air Defence Forces are using Thales Ground Master 403 (GM403) long-range surveillance radars. Benha Electronics provides maintenance services for this radar.
