A Legacy of Excellence

Thales committed to support Indian Air Force in ensuring safer skies

Ankur Kanaglekar

As technology transforms rapidly in an evolving geopolitical scenario, airspace has emerged as a vital frontier in new-age warfare. Recognising this, India has been consistently accelerating its adoption of advanced technological solutions to support the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) modernisation efforts and safeguard national sovereignty.

Marking its 93rd anniversary this year, the IAF celebrates a legacy of excellence and resilience. Thales takes pride in being their trusted partner in this journey—strengthening the IAF’s tactical superiority through future-ready technologies and ensuring mission-readiness in the face of evolving threats.

Thales’ flagship solutions including avionics, radars, reconnaissance pods, Identification Friend or Foe, as well as Inertial Navigation to Global Positioning System and electronic warfare have been instrumental in securing the IAF’s operational superiority.

As a global technology leader, Thales brings proven capabilities in the design, development and deployment of equipment, systems and services tailored to meet the most complex defence requirements. Our portfolio also includes the capability to upgrade solutions for a large range of combat aircraft. Aligning with the strategic requirements of ‘Make in India’, Thales together with Dassault Aviation has worked on the upgrade of the IAF’s Mirage 2000 fleet and supported Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in this programme. Also, as a proud member of the Dassault Aviation Rafale team, Thales provides a number of state-of-the-art equipment onboard the fighter aircraft.

In a significant step towards strengthening India’s air defence capabilities, Thales and Bharat Dynamics Limited announced this year about providing a first supply of Laser Beam Riding MANPAD (LBRM) Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) Missiles and launchers to the Indian ministry of defence, marking a major advance in the nation’s defence capabilities.

Empowering the Indian Industry

The ongoing transformation within India’s defence sector, powered by the ambitious ‘Make in India for India and for the World’ focus, is driving self-reliance and global competitiveness. Thales has been a long-standing partner in this growth journey, having built a strong and growing network of over 75 suppliers in India that support domestic and international markets. In 2024, our purchasing volume was over 250 million euros, a testament to our deepening engagement with Indian industry.

Thales continues to forge strong partnerships across public and private sectors, including meaningful collaborations with Bharat Electronics Ltd, Bharat Dynamics Limited, MKU, and others to drive and strengthen indigenous capabilities.

Thales also continues to invest in its engineering competence centres (ECCs) in Noida and Bengaluru, strengthening its commitment to India’s talent and innovation ecosystem. Today, we have around 2200 employees working with Thales and our JVs in India. These include over 1550 highly skilled engineers who are actively contributing to our Indian as well as global projects from these world-class centres.

A Shared Vision for a Secure Tomorrow

As we celebrate Indian Air Force Day, Thales salutes the IAF’s remarkable contributions in safeguarding India’s skies and reaffirms its unwavering support to the nation’s defence and aerospace sectors. Thales remains committed to supporting the IAF with cutting-edge technologies that ensure operational superiority and help build a secure tomorrow for India.

(The writer is vice-president-India, Thales)