Vietnam ‘Vital Market’ In Region For Defence, Non-Military Needs – Thales
MARKING its 30th year of cooperation with Vietnam, defence powerhouse Thales has positioned itself as a trusted and reliable partner of the southeast Asian country’s government and commercial sectors since 1994. Built on the three pillars of defence and security, aerospace and cyber security, the firm’s country office serves its clientele consisting of Vietnam’s defence, public security and transport ministries, as well as prominent private enterprises including major airlines like Vietnam Airlines and VietJet, telecommunications operators namely Viettel, VNPT and MobiFone, as well as banks such as Vietcombank, Agribank and BIDV.
Speaking to Asian Defence Journal at the second Vietnam International Defence Expo (VIDEX) 2024 was Thales’ country director Nicolas Bernardin (pix), explaining that Vietnam’s consistent positive yearly economic growth has transformed the country into a vital market in the region, drawing long-term interest from Thales in recent years. With a strong foothold in the Vietnamese civil aviation sector, Thales has also capitalised on the defence sector.
With new emerging technologies manifesting into complex cyber threats, Thales’ portfolio in Vietnam is composed of cyber security consulting, cyber security products, cyber security systems and cyber intelligence. Building on new and existing partnerships, Thales has been integral to securing Vietnam’s banking sector. While new technologies may pose a threat, Thales also uses the latest technologies for good, applying artificial intelligence on their platforms to improve their solutions.
In the space domain, Thales is an industry leader in four aspects: civil and military telecommunications, observation, navigation and space exploration. More recently, Thales collaborated with the Ministry of Transport and Viettel to implement the MEOLUT Next satellite search and rescue system which expands coverage of detecting distress signals from vessels out at sea several thousand kilometres away. As Typhoon Yagi struck Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos in September last year, MEOLUT received, recorded and processed distress signals from two vessels, allowing 20 crewmembers to be rescued.
Thales also promoted its All-In-One High Revisit Earth Observation Constellation, combining radar and optical microsatellites for real-time, all weather observations day and night. Additionally, drawing from its experience in technology transfer in countries like Korea, Thales could play a vital role in assisting Vietnam in its efforts to develop its space industry, as outlined in its strategy for the development and application of space science and technology by 2030.
Not forgetting the company’s core business, Thales has supplied comprehensive sensors ranging from sonars, coastal surveillance radars, electronic warfare systems and optronic solutions to the Vietnam People’s Navy and Vietnam People’s Army.
As with the latest trends in warfare, Thales also showcased its latest innovation in counter-unmanned aerial system (UAS) solutions, the HardKill warhead. The FZ123 is an unguided 70mm rocket solution against solitary or swarms of drones. The warhead is packed with an electronic fuse setting and several thousand steel balls to create a cloud of steel ball bearings to take down drones. With the HardKill, users have a lower cost-per-kill ratio against small and medium drones.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:ADJ)