Thales Optronics is a
optronics manufacturer and a
division of the French defence corporation
Thales Group
Thales S.A., Trade name, trading as Thales Group (), is a French multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence industry, defence corporation specializing in electronics. It designs, develops and manufactures a wide variety of aer ...
. It is headquartered in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The company has three main subsidiaries: Thales Optronique SA in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Thales Optronics Limited in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and Thales Optronics B.V in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
History
France
United Kingdom
Thales' optronics businesses in the UK trace their origins to Pilkington Optronics, which was formed by
Pilkington
Pilkington is a glass-manufacturing company which is based in Lathom, Lancashire, England. It includes several legal entities in the UK, and is a subsidiary of Japanese company Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG). It was formerly an independent company ...
plc in 1988 to take control of the company's optronics businesses: Pilkington PE located in North Wales (formed in 1966) and
Barr and Stroud, which was based in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. Pilkington PE later became Thales Optics Ltd., which was divested from Thales in December 2005 as Qioptiq Ltd.
In 1991 Thomson-CSF acquired 50% of Pilkington Optronics. In 1995 Pilkington Optronics acquired
Thorn EMI
Thorn EMI was a major British company involved in consumer electronics, music, defence and retail. Created when Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI in October 1979, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituen ...
Electro Optics which was renamed Pilkington Thorn Optronics. Three years later, Thomson-CSF purchased another 40% of Pilkington Optronics from Pilkington and the remainder in 2000 to make it a wholly owned subsidiary. In 2000 Thomson-CSF was renamed Thales and Pilkington Optronics Ltd. became Thales Optronics Ltd. Soon after, Thomson-CSF acquired
W Vinten Ltd, a British reconnaissance equipment manufacturer, including the
Joint Reconnaissance Pod.
In November 2006 Thales Optronics Limited announced the closure of its manufacturing facility in Taunton, Somerset, with the loss of 180 jobs. In June 2007 Thales sold the beryllium mirrors and structures business of Thales Optronics Limited to GSI Group Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
Thales Optronics Limited was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in June 2011.
Netherlands
Operations
France
United Kingdom
Thales Optronics Limited has its headquarters and main production facility in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland, where it employs around 630 people.
Its principal activity is the design, development and manufacture of infra-red cameras, laser range-finders, and cameras for use in airborne reconnaissance systems, armoured vehicle sighting systems, submarine periscopes and target locators.
[
In 2011 Thales Optronics Limited generated total revenues of £229 million (2010 – £212 million) and profits of £24.4 million (2010 – £14 million).][
]
Netherlands
Products
*Search and track
**PIRATE
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
(Passive Infra Red Airborne Tracking Equipment) for Eurofighter Typhoon
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Syste ...
**Rafale FSO/OSF IRST systems
* IRST systems
*Self protection systems
** Laser Warning Receivers
** Laser countermeasures
*Laser range finders
*Sighting systems
*Reconnaissance systems
** Joint Reconnaissance Pod
*Submarine Sensor Systems including the latest non-hull penetrating Optronics Masts systems, which replace conventional periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position.
In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
s in some of the most modern submarine classes.
*Electro-optic aircraft reconnaissance pods and image exploitation stations
*AFV Fire Control and Navigation systems
See also
* Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
References
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
Defence companies of France
Defence companies of the United Kingdom
Optics manufacturing companies
Armoured fighting vehicle vision and sighting equipment
Thales Group divisions and subsidiaries