Thales CEO, Patrice Caine attends the Thales group general shareholders meeting on May 23, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Vincent Isore/IP3/Getty Images)
BEIRUT — Amid efforts to increase localized defense production by Arab countries, Egyptian firm Benha Electronics has joined forces with French Thales to coproduce communication and signaling devices.
According to a statement issued today by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Military Production, under the agreement the two companies aim “to cooperate in the field of training, research and development with regard to the production of communication devices and signaling systems in light of the contract signed between the two sides to establish a new joint company under the name ‘Thales & Benha Electronics S.A.E.'”
The statement added that this joint venture (JV) comes “within the framework of the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production’s keenness to localize the newest manufacturing technologies within its affiliated factories in cooperation with the various international companies, stressing that the Ministry’s main mission is to meet the needs and demands of the Egyptian Armed Forces from various (ammunitions, weapons, equipment and advanced electronic systems) which the affiliated factories manufacture.”
Benha Electronics, also known in Egypt as Factory 144, is a state-owned Egyptian electronics firm that is a subsidiary of the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production.
The ministry’s official spokesman, Mohamed Eid Bakr, said that the agreement “comes in light of the work policy of the Ministry Of Military Production, which is based on openness to cooperation with specialized international companies working in various industrial fields,” according to the statement.
Bakr reiterated the minister of military production’s interest “in benefiting from the French experiences in the various fields of military manufacturing, especially in light of the fruitful cooperation relations and strong ties between the two countries.”
Egypt is one of the few countries operating defense systems, from aircraft to artillery, from both Western and Eastern origins, which has put the country in a position to try to interoperate both systems with locally innovated C5ISR systems.
Thales Executive Vice President for Secure Communications & Information Systems Christophe Salomon in the statement said the JV “benefits both sides” and that he hopes to reach a level of strategic partnership through the agreement.
Breaking Defense previously interviewed Thales CEO Patrice Caine at IDEX 2023 where he expressed the company’s hopes to expand in the Middle East.
