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Panoramic view of Dubai skyline on April 30, 2021 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by François Nell/Getty Images)
PARIS – As countries in the Middle East, especially the Gulf, race to modernize their technology and defense sectors while still promoting local production, Thales finds itself among the major defense players seeing growth through subsidiaries approach, an executive from the French company told us to break down defenses in a recent interview.
Emmanuel de Roquefeuil, the company’s vice president for the Middle East, said the French company currently employs about 1,500 people in the region and plans to double that number within five years.To do this, and according to Local restrictions on foreign companies Roquefeuil, which operates independently, said Thales would expand its use of subsidiaries and partnerships with local companies, universities and government entities.
From landmine countermeasures to anti-drone technology, demand for Thales products is only going to grow, he said. The future of the industry will be all about localization.
“The Middle East is a strategic region for Thales, which has embarked on a journey of industrial and digital autonomy to localize defense industry spending,” he said. “Thales wants to contribute to the development of the local digital ecosystem in line with the region’s policies, accelerate the transfer of knowledge and technology, and create high-value data scientist jobs.”
Breaking Defense spoke with Roquefeuil during October’s Euronaval conference in Paris, where several of the company’s systems were on display. The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Breaking Defense: What is Thales’ strategy in the Middle East? What are its main interests in the region?
ROQUEFEUIL: Thales’ strategy in the Middle East is based on three pillars: our customers, stakeholders and employees. We have clear strategies for each of them.
- Clients: We are increasing our involvement in industrialization and localization to boost our industrial footprint in Middle Eastern countries through a number of activities. We primarily utilize systems that have already been produced and delivered to customers in the region. To serve them and maintain delivered equipment, we are increasing our industrial proximity.
- Stakeholders: We are constantly innovating, researching, developing and implementing new technologies to ensure the continuity of key operations and functions for stakeholders across all business units. We invest EUR 1 billion (US$ 1 billion) per year in self-funded research and development, involving around 30,000 Thales employees. This can support our stakeholders in the Middle East to achieve their industrialization goals by innovating some products for local customers and exporting from the Middle East.
- People: We mainly focus on education and local employment, and at Thales we are hiring more nationals from the Middle East, taking into account the policies of each country. Thales is committed to deepening its presence in the region by contributing to national vision development plans. One of our main goals is Emiratisation, which is the most demanding of a company like ours, followed by Omanisation and Bahrainisation. Therefore, we are meeting the needs of each country and giving priority to education and training through institutions and universities with which we have connections and channels. Our aim is to train and empower local youth and communities to support innovation in the Middle East.
With localization efforts, it is difficult for foreign companies to increase exports to the Middle East. How does Thales address this issue?
Emmanuel de Roquefeuil, Vice President of Thales Middle East. (Thales)
In the Middle East we have 1,500 employees and we have been working in the region for 50 years. We generate a significant portion of our revenue, 60% of which is defense related, related to the development of sovereign technologies. In this case, the best way to innovate is locally with our customers. So we’re obviously developing local companies like Thales Emarat Technologies in the UAE. France and the UAE have a strategic relationship in the field of sovereign technologies. Based on the Thales product line provided to the Gulf countries, we can generate new intellectual property rights and products with the Middle East countries.
Through a localization strategy, Thales has expanded its local footprint in the UAE. Thales Emarat Technologies is a prime example. It is integrated into the UAE’s ecosystem and is fully in line with the UAE’s national strategy and its leadership’s vision to develop a nation at the forefront of innovation, with strong human capital and self-reliance. Thales Emarat Technologies was created to develop a center of excellence for key systems such as radar, digital communications and various defense aerospace technologies.
Linked to innovation, the Competence Centers we develop are key to maintaining privileged links with local entities and developing innovative solutions. And, in an environment like the Middle East, Thales never acts alone. Thales is rooted in the local industrial ecosystem and relies as much as possible on the local supply chain.
What is Thales promoting to the Middle East countries? What specific Thales systems are the region interested in?
Warfare is intensifying, so collaborative operations and resilience are clearly priorities in the region, as we have recently witnessed drone strikes in the Middle East.In this regard, Thales supports [confronting] Certain scenarios, such as drone strikes, involve low-speed, low-altitude drones and unmanned surface vessels. Clearly, counter-drone is a capability that governments are primarily looking for today, whether it’s air or naval. Therefore, we aim to develop the Anti-UAV Systems market in this region.
Another emerging threat and technology is countering mine warfare and protecting coasts, especially in the Middle East and the Gulf. Various countries around the world, not only in the Middle East, have shown interest in the Thales Mine Countermeasures (MCM) system. ME countries are looking to integrate radars (primarily new versions of digital radars such as Thales SeaFire) onto frigates or other types of ships. As threats increase, I believe we will see this type of technique in ME.
In the field of space, how does Thales support Middle Eastern countries in developing their defense capabilities?
Today, with Airbus, we are part of the UAE’s FalconEye satellite system, which is operational and provides premium services to the country. Thales is also part of the emirates satellite, and in space, we are in discussions with GCC countries that are really looking to acquire space capabilities for observation or military communications.
What is your next five-year plan for the region?
Today, Thales has 1,500 employees in ME, a number we expect to double in five years’ time.
The Middle East is a strategic region for Thales, which has embarked on a journey of industrial and digital autonomy to localize defense industry spending. This is in line with an ambitious national vision to reduce dependence on foreign imports and attract and develop the intellectual capital needed to enable them to compete on the global stage. Thales wants to contribute to the development of the local digital ecosystem in line with the region’s policies, accelerate the transfer of knowledge and technology, and create high-value data scientist jobs.
Therefore, the main objectives are to bring about security, security and growth, while maintaining national sovereignty, providing sustainable economic development, and developing local talent.
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