Prime Minister announces that the Thales missile factory in Belfast will be supplying 5,000 air defense missiles to Ukraine. This deal, worth up to £1.6bn, will also involve the recruitment of 200 additional staff. Thales, a French-owned company, is one of Europe’s largest arms manufacturers and the missiles in question are lightweight multirole missiles (LMMs) that Ukrainian forces are already utilizing.
The initial contract, announced in September last year, supplied 650 LMMs to Ukraine to kickstart production, with deliveries starting in December. However, the new order is considerably larger, initially valued at £1.16bn with the potential for an additional £500m of work to be added through collaboration with a Ukrainian industry partner. This partner firm will be responsible for manufacturing launchers and command and control vehicles for the missiles within Ukraine.
The UK Ministry of Defence highlighted that this contract is the largest ever received by Thales in Belfast. Defense Secretary John Healey mentioned that this deal will aid in protecting Ukraine against drone and missile attacks, as well as deter further Russian aggression post any cessation of hostilities. The contract, placed by the MoD’s procurement arm Defense Equipment & Support on behalf of the Ukrainian Government, will be financed through a loan underwritten by United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) following an agreement made last year allowing Ukraine to access £3.5bn worth of support from UKEF to spend with UK industry
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