Missile contract to create 80 jobs in Belfast

Up to 80 jobs will be created following the government's decision to award Belfast-based defence contractor Thales Air Defence part of the contract to produce anti-armour missiles for the British and Swedish military.

The Thales joint bid, led by Swedish defence group Saab Bofors Dynamics (SBD), was accepted for preferred supplier status in the £400 million defence programme announced today by Lord Bach – the Minister of Defence Procurement. The contract is worth around £70 million to Thales who will assist in the production of between 80,000 to 100,000 'fire and forget' Next generation Light Anti-armour Weapons (NLAW).

The missiles will be assembled in Northern Ireland using capabilities gained from similar missile programmes such as Starstreak, Hellfire and VT1 and will result in more than 500 high quality, long-term jobs throughout the UK, with 80 of those jobs based in Northern Ireland.

David Beatty of Thales Air Defence, SBD’s principle UK partner, said: “This is particularly welcome as it means the opportunity to exploit new technologies and will ensure a long-term future on this and similar programmes. I would like to thank all our local and national government representatives who helped us make our case to UK Government. I believe that this solution is an excellent example of smart acquisition in action.”

One MP who lobbied on behalf of the Thales bid, Peter Robinson MP – whose constituency takes in the Castlereagh site – welcomed the move. He said: "Thales is a vibrant and forward-looking company with significant prospects in the missile industry. It is a world leader in its area of activity."

The contract, which has been awarded to 15 companies throughout the UK, will see infantry regiments such as the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment equipped with the weapon which is capable of destroying battle tanks, armoured vehicles and even buildings. The missiles are expected to enter service by 2006-07.

Thales Air Defence employs around 550 people in Belfast and has manufacturing facilities in Belfast and south Down that will be used for the manufacture and final assembly of MBT LAW.

The main members of the consortium included Saab Bofors Dynamics, Thales Air Defence, BAE SYSTEMS Avionics, ICI-Nobel Enterprises, Portsmouth Aviation and Raytheon Systems Ltd.

(GMcG)