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Thales Celebrates 50th Anniversary in Singapore, Announces Major Investments and Innovations

  • 09 Oct 2023
From Left to Right: Emily Tan, Country Director, Thales in Singapore, Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board, Pascale Sourisse, Senior Executive Vice President for International Development, Thales, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat, Patrice Caine, Chairman and CEO, Thales Group, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment Ministry of Transport, Nicolas Bouverot, Vice President for Thales in Asia, Ms Minh-di Tang, French Ambassador to Singapore. Photo: Thales

Thales, a global technology and defence corporation, marked a significant milestone on 5 October 2023, celebrating 50 years of operations in Singapore. As part of its 50th-anniversary celebrations, Thales unveiled several groundbreaking initiatives that signify its commitment to innovation and collaboration in Singapore. It also announced plans to recruit more than 1000 people in Singapore over the next three years. 

Pioneering the Future: Exciting New Initiatives

Thales first established its presence in Singapore in 1973 to support aeronautics-related activities across the Asia Pacific region. Over the decades, it evolved and expanded its capabilities to encompass national defence, space, transportation, and, more recently, digital identity and security solutions, following the successful acquisition and integration of Gemalto in 2019.

Thales’ 50th-anniversary gala event, hosted by Thales Group’s Chairman and CEO, Patrice Caine, was attended by distinguished guests including Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Heng Swee Keat. Several key announcements were made at the milestone occasion:

1. Air Traffic Management Centre of Excellence

Thales announced the establishment of a world-class Air Traffic Management (ATM) Centre of Excellence located in Singapore. The Centre of Excellence will focus on industrial applications and design activities for Thales’ Air Traffic Management system, TopSky-ATC and aims to foster collaboration and innovation with regional air navigation service providers and civil aviation authorities on innovations in airspace. It also has plans to engage with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), academia and other ATM stakeholders in the region to create an open and collaborative ATM ecosystem.

The establishment of the centre supports the Singapore Air Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025, which outlines key priorities to transform Singapore into a future-ready global aviation hub, including building a safe and sustainable air hub and pursuing innovation in better air traffic and unmanned systems. Through its ATM Centre of Excellence, Thales will ramp up activities to promote the development of the sector in Asia.  This will include additional hiring, with the ambition of having 120 ATM experts located in Singapore in the coming years.

2. ScaleFlyt Remote ID: Leading Drone Safety

Thales also launched its ScaleFlyt Remote ID, a commercial drone platform that manages drone identification and tracking – fully designed, developed and ‘Made-in-Singapore’. With the ScaleFlyt Remote ID tracker, drones can communicate vital information such as location, altitude, and identification to air traffic controllers and other airspace stakeholders. This real-time sharing of data ensures situational awareness and allows for effective coordination between drone operators and airspace owners, mitigating risks of airspace conflicts.

The device was designed by the Thales Drone team in Singapore, combining the competencies and resources of Thales’ Avionics and Digital Identity & Security expertise, supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). The product was trialled and certified over the past two years and is ready for commercial use in the global market. Thales also expressed intent to expand its drone activity in the future to include digital flight avionics and Urban Air Mobility solutions.

Thales’ ScaleFlyt device on a drone. Photo: Thales

3. The Defence Hub: Strengthening Singapore’s Defence Capabilities

Thales will also officially inaugurate its Singapore Defence Hub on 6 October in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA). Operating under three pillars: Services, Engineering, and Research, the Thales Singapore Defence Hub aims to enhance long-term defence service capabilities including maintenance, support, operational availability and local development to meet the requirements of the Singapore Armed Forces. Trained Thales engineering and services experts will be located in Singapore, working with DSTA and the SAF, to provide optimum service quality, such as having a faster turnaround time for maintenance and other services. 

In March this year, Thales announced the establishment of a Radar Centre of Excellence to drive and develop radar expertise in Singapore. DSTA and Thales have been exploring radar digital collaboration to support health monitoring of equipment and co-developing a Radar Digital Twin to facilitate developments that can help to address new and future threats.

A Vision for the Future

The investments announced in conjunction with its 50th-anniversary celebrations signal Thales’ strategic commitment to Singapore and its growth. Caine said, “Singapore is a strategic country for Thales and a regional innovative hub for Asia. These announcements illustrate Singapore and Thales’ joint innovation and digital ambitions, building together a more sustainable aviation future and more resilient defence capabilities serving Singapore Armed Forces. By growing local capabilities in close proximity to our customers and partners, we are providing technologies for a safer and more secure society across Asia.”

Png Cheong Boon, Chairman of EDB said, “Singapore values our longstanding partnership with Thales. Thales’ growing presence here has created exciting job opportunities for many Singaporeans across various functions such as manufacturing, research & development (R&D) and headquarters. Thales’ collaborations with our research institutes, Institutes of Higher Learning and government agencies to develop new technologies and solutions have also advanced Singapore’s competitiveness as a global node for innovation.”

With 2,000 employees of thirty nationalities across four primary sites in Singapore, Thales has become a key player in the country’s technological landscape. In the aerospace domain, Singapore is home to the largest avionics manufacturing site for the Thales Group. Thales has also entrenched a strong Research, Technology and Innovation footprint with multiple research facilities including a 15-year-old joint lab at NTU with CNRS International, the Thales Digital Factory, Engineering Competency Centre, and joint labs with customers and partners. 

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