France’s Thales and Norway’s Kongsberg ink communications joint venture
The JV is forecast to earn revenue worth NOK 3 billion through the end of the decade based on “substantial market opportunities and product synergies.”
A Thales Ground Master 200 radar at the 2023 Paris Air Show (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
BELFAST — French manufacturer Thales and Norwegian supplier Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace have signed an agreement to launch a communications joint venture (JV), with each partner consolidating its current communications business.
Thales, which already operates a communications business in Norway, said in a statement today that the new entity is “designed to meet the growing connectivity needs of defence forces in Norway, NATO countries and other nations,” and is a response to “European armed forces’ call for greater interoperability, sovereignty, and the urgent need for large-scale equipment delivery.”
Ownership will be split on a 50/50 basis between both parties, with a workforce of 350 personnel spread across Oslo, Trondheim and Asker, Norway, said the statement, adding that the two businesses returned combined revenues of approximately NOK 1.5 billion ($178 million) last year.
The JV is forecast to earn revenue worth NOK 3 billion through the end of the decade based on “substantial market opportunities and product synergies.” Thales also noted that the JV will “have a broader product mix with powerful and advanced systems.”
As shared in the statement, Thales in Norway “provides high-grade crypto networks and voice communication systems to NATO and other nations,” while Kongsberg “delivers tactical radio systems for the land domain,” alongside tactical networks for major weapons systems like the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System.
Prior defense collaboration between Thales and Norwegian industry includes a 2021 declaration with mechanical engineering firm Ritek, covering “radar opportunities” offered by the Nordic nation, according to a separate Thales statement.
