Thales Group in Russia
Sergey Denisentsev
Few Western companies can boast of the same experience of broad and productive cooperation with Russian aerospace and defense enterprises as the Thales Group of France.
Thomson-CSF, the precursor to Thales, entered the Soviet market in the 1970s with the delivery of several aviation trainers to the Ilyushin design bureau. With the end of the Cold War, many new areas of bilateral cooperation emerged, and the equipping of Russian aircraft with advanced French avionics was one of the most promising ones. Through the 1990s, Thomson-CSF participated in a range of such projects, including thermal imagers and multifunctional displays for the new Ka-52 attack helicopter, and radio navigational equipment for the advanced MiG-AT trainer aircraft.
However, Thales reached a qualitatively new level of relations with Russian firms through its participation in the Su-30MKI project. The Indian Air Force made it a condition of their purchase that the fighters be equipped with French avionics. In particular, the Su-30MKI was equipped with Thales multifunctional liquid crystal displays. The resulting vehicle, combining the maneuverability of a Russian fighter with the quality of French avionics, quickly proved itself on international markets.
When Malaysia decided to purchase the Su-30MKI for the first time, the Malaysian Air Force requested that the vehicle be equipped with another Thales product: the Damocles multifunction targeting pod. To fill this order, designers from Sukhoi and Thales specialists had to work through 2006 – 2007 to integrate the French system with the aviation electronics.
The high combat qualities demonstrated by Damocles during testing attracted the attention of an unexpected customer: the Russian Ministry of Defense, and Thales is now negotiating technology transfer agreements and full localization of Damocles production in Russia. If these negotiations prove successful, Damocles will be the first Western defense technology in a very long time to have been licensed for Russian production. The decision to purchase foreign technology was controversial, since Russian design bureaus were developing an analogous device. However, the superior combat qualities and the fact that the French product was already in series production tilted the issue in its favor. The production of Damocles in Russia will most likely be established at the Urals Optical Mechanical Plant. Russian aircraft slated to be equipped with the French system include the modernized Su-27SM, Su-24M2 as well as the new Su-35-1 and the Su-34 assault plane.
Aside from Sukhoi, Thales technologies have been installed on other fighting aircraft, like the ship-borne MiG-29K fighter, equipped with the TopSight helmet-mounted sight/display.
Thales’ success in providing Russian aircraft with avionic systems led to cooperation in other areas. In 2005, the Indian Ministry of Defense decided to equip its Russian T-90S tanks with the Catherine FC thermal imager made by Thales. In November 2007, Russia received a new order for 347 tanks from India, and Thales announced at Defexpo 2008 the delivery of 400 Catherine FC units meant primarily for installation on Russian-made tanks.
The thermal imaging devices made by Thales are significantly superior to analogous Russian products, and they endow the T-90 tank with much broader range of applications at night and in any weather conditions. Not surprisingly, the Russian MOD has also expressed its interest in the Catherine FC system. News that Thales and Rosoboronexport had signed an agreement on the delivery of 100 thermal imagers for installation on T-90 tanks for the Russian Ground Forces was made public in mid-2007.
On March 20, 2008, negotiations between Rosoboron-export and Thales were disclosed on the near term joint establishment of servicing centers for thermal imaging devices, and the longer term transfer of technologies and joint production of the Catherine FC in Russia.
Aside from defense programs, Thales participates in several civilian projects in Russia. The Group’s participation in the Sukhoi Superjet100 regional aircraft is key. At the very early stages of this project, Thales was chosen as the supplier and integrator of the Superjet’s avionics systems. The contract for the development and delivery of avionics was signed at Le Bourget in 2005. Thales is responsible for the delivery of the majority of the navigational and piloting equipment, radio communications, equipment panels, and multifunctional displays. In July 2006, the English subsidiary Thales Service signed a contract with Sukhoi Civilian Aircraft to deliver three training systems, including the joint development of a maintenance program. The trainers will be delivered in late 2008 and early 2009.
In May 2006, Thales’ entry into another promising Russian aviation project was announced. The company was selected together with the Russian Transas company to supply avionics for the Mi-38 medium transport helicopter, developed in the framework of the Euromil joint enterprise with the Moscow Mil and Kazan helicopter plants. Thales will supply autopilot systems, navigation and radio communications for the helicopter. The Russian companies involved in the Mi-38 project consider western participation to be important to assist with the certification of the vehicles according to EASA standards and the penetration of external markets.
The Thales Group may also participate in another civilian aviation project: the creation of the MC-21 short- to mid-range airliner.
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales and the Italian Finmeccanica, is working with Russian companies on space technology development. Thales’ main partner in this area is JSC Information Satellite Systems (the former Applied Mechanics Science-Production Association). The French company has for some time now supplied payload modules for Russian satellites, and Thales Alenia Space and Information Satellites Systems have agreed jointly to develop a new satellite platform: the Express-4000, and will be accepting civilian and military orders in Russia and Europe.
Thales products are also used by many enterprises throughout Russia outside of the aerospace and defense industries. For example, Thales provides Gazprom with control systems for its long-distance pipelines and Russian Railways with control systems for trains. Air control systems supplied by Thales are used in several airports, including Moscow’s Domodedovo, one of the largest and most modern airports in Russia. Thales remote sensing and geodesic equipment is also well known in Russia.
The experience of Thales shows that cooperation between large Western and Russian companies can be successful and beneficial when the interests and competitive advantages of each party are made constructively to interact.
