French defence and aerospace company ‘Thales’ is all set to invest big in India, especially in the drone sector. The French defence firm will pump-in nearly 1.2 billion dollars and a major part of the investment will range from manufacturing to traffic management and countering rogue drones.
The defence major is betting big on emerging drone space in India and the firm will invest the money in the next five years.
“Our solutions allow civil and military aviation authorities to detect — even without data transmission — and verify a drone’s registration number, identify its pilot, and confirm its flight authorisation, all in a few seconds,” said Ashish Saraf, Thales India VP & country director.
Presently, India has 6 lakh drones and this number is expected to rise at least six times in next 5-8 years, as per the french aerospace firm.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Systems by Thales
Experience in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance innovation are some of the things Thales has equipped in its Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). With over 100,000 hours of operational flying experience, the firm has delivered Europe’s largest UAV programme, Watchkeeper, and plan to lead the development of future UAS capabilities around the world.
These drones play an important role in defence planning and provide comprehensive awareness to commanders to enable better decision making and timely reaction.
A look at Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Systems by Thales
MALE: The drone is ideal for the surveillance of theatres of operation and for zone reconnaissance
Mini UAV – Sea: It is a classified mini-UAV that has a size of 3.1 meters and weighs 19 kilos. It flies to the altitude of 3,000 meters and can achieve a speed of 150 kilometres per hour.
Spy’Ranger mini-UAV systems: The Spy’Ranger family of mini UAV systems from Thales heralds a new era in intelligence gathering and indirect fire support by forward units confirms the crucial role of optronics.
Watchkeeper: This drone is built to operate in extreme and challenging environments. It has an integrated Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) system, designed to collect, exploit and distribute vital information, accurately and efficiently.
UCAV: Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) is equipped with stealth technology demonstrator, which successfully completed its maiden flight on December 2012.
Thales in India
Headquartered in Noida, Thales started its operations in India in 1953. The firm also has other operational offices and sites spread across Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai, among others.
With more than 1,800 employees, working with Thales and its joint ventures in India, the firm is playing an essential role in India’s growth story by sharing its technologies and expertise in Defence, Transport, Aerospace and Digital Identity and Security markets.
Notably, Thales has two engineering competence centres in India – one in Delhi NCR focused on digital identity and security business, while the one in Bengaluru, which focuses on hardware, software and systems engineering capabilities for both the civil and defence sectors, serving global needs.
Thales sourced €500 million worth of components in India
Thales has tie-ups with public and private sector firms in India including Samtel, BEL, L&T Technology Services and Reliance Aerostructure French aerospace and tech giant. The French firm earlier this month completed €500 million worth of local sourcing from India and plan to grow it further to more than €1 billion over the span of next five years
According to Patrice Caine, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Thales Group. “We look at India as a top country; not just as a market but also as an export hub. We have sourced and supplied more and more from India as it has a good ecosystem. We intend to grow it as part of our global supply chain.”