Forges de Zeebrugge (since 1 January 2017: Thales Belgium) is an arms manufacturer in based in Herstal, Belgium. Forges de Zeebrugge was founded as a munitions factory between

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...

and Zwankendamme, in the 1930s, as a subsidiary of Carcoke. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the site was taken over by German forces. Allied bombing, especially in July 1943, devastated the factory site; the original munitions factory was never rebuilt and later remediation of this site was difficult due to unexploded munitions. The surviving FZ business changed focus to rocketry. In 1971, FZ bought the Fort d'Évegnée from Belgian Army, using it to store explosives. Modern-day FZ is a subsidiary of

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...

, and is a leading manufacturer of aircraft air-to-ground rocket system (70mm, 2.75") including rocket launcher (7, 12 and 19 tube), rockets and firing control system. FZ rocket systems are qualified and in operational use on more than 300 platforms including

Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturer, helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located ...

, AgustaWestland,

Hindustan Aeronautics Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bangalore, India. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the worl ...

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where i ...

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

, Hawker Beechcraft and other aircraft manufacturers. In 2011, FZ workers briefly went on strike, in response to a Belgian government reform of arms exports - which was triggered by FN exporting arms to Libya. In October 2015, FZ has successfully completed a test firing of its 70 mm laser-guided rocket (FZ275 LGR) from a

Denel Rooivalk The Denel Rooivalk (previously designated AH-2 and CSH-2) is an attack helicopter manufactured by Denel Aviation of South Africa. ''Rooivalk'' is Afrikaans for "Red Falcon", which refers to the lesser kestrel. Development of the type began in 19 ...

helicopter. In December 2017, an

H145M helicopter successfully launched a 70mm Laser Guided Rockets (FZ275 LGR) during its firing campaign at the Älvdalen test range of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration Flight test Centre.

References

{{reflist Firearm manufacturers of Belgium Defense companies of Belgium Air-to-ground rockets Herstal Soumagne Companies based in Liège Province

See also

References