Thales, a member of the Rafale team, alongside Dassault Aviation, welcomes the selection of the Rafale omnirole combat aircraft by the Indian Air Force. The official signing ceremony for the acquisition of 36 Rafale aircraft was held on 23 September in New Delhi, India, in the presence of the Indian Defense Minister, Manohar Parrikar, the French Defense Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier and the Chairman and CEO of Thales, Patrice Caine.
In addition to the 36 Rafale (28 single-seat and 8 twin-seat) ordered by India, 24 Rafale were ordered by Egypt in February 2015, and 24 Rafale were ordered by Qatar in May 2015.
7,000 people work on the Rafale at Dassault Aviation, Thales, Safran, as well as 500 subcontractors.
“All Thales teams would like to thank the Indian authorities for the trust they have placed in us. Rafale's new export success demonstrates our ability, alongside Dassault Aviation and its partners, to constantly meet the customer's highest expectations through innovation, the mastery of advanced technology and industrial excellence,” said Patrice Caine, Chairman and CEO, Thales group.
With a presence in India since 1953, Thales currently employs over 300 people at its Indian branch. The Thales India headquarters is located in New Delhi, and it has other operational offices and sites at Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. Thales plays an essential role in India's growth, by sharing its technology and its expertise on the defense, transportation and aerospace markets.
Thales’ strategy of developing its industrial presence in India is in line with the Indian Government's “Make in India” policy. Thales has formed several cooperative partnerships with public and private sector industries. Thales has been closely associated with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for more than 50 years and has formed joint ventures with Samtel, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and L&T Technology Services.
Thales is a global high technology leader in the aerospace, transportation, defense and security markets. With 62,000 employees in 56 countries, Thales reported sales of 14 billion euros in 2015. Over 22,000 engineers and researchers give Thales a unique capability to design and deploy equipment, systems and services to meet the most complex security requirements. Its exceptional international footprint allows it to work closely with its customers all over the world.
