Thales, working closely with SFO Technologies, has advanced India’s objective of achieving greater self-reliance in defence production. A new contract for manufacturing high-value, technologically sophisticated wired assemblies for the RBE2 AESA radar used on India’s Rafale aircraft highlights SFO Technologies’ deep technical capability and its long-standing collaboration with Thales across key defence programmes.
This initial order represents a major step in Thales’ “Make in India” roadmap, focused on localising the production of advanced radar technologies. The initiative is expected to significantly enhance domestic manufacturing capacity for essential Rafale sub-systems supplied to the Indian Armed Forces.
Following the Indian Navy’s procurement of 26 Rafale aircraft, Thales—an integral member of the Dassault Aviation Rafale consortium—continues to expand its localisation efforts by working closely with India’s aerospace and defence industry. The collaboration spans a wide range of competencies, including precision engineering, assembly and wiring, electronics and microelectronics, as well as advanced system integration.
Philippe Knoche, Senior Executive Vice President – Operations and Performance, Thales, stated “Our collaboration with SFO Technologies underlines our long-term commitment to the Make in India initiative. Through decades of partnerships in India, we have steadily invested in building local expertise and strengthening indigenous capabilities. SFO Technologies has consistently delivered innovation, dependability and high standards of performance. We are pleased to deepen this partnership and continue raising benchmarks for quality and operational excellence in support of India’s self-reliance goals.”
N Jehangir, Chairman and Managing Director of SFO Technologies, added “We are grateful for the continued confidence Thales has placed in SFO Technologies. It is a privilege to contribute to the development of advanced capabilities within India while playing an active role in the production of Rafale equipment for the country. As always, we remain focused on delivering the highest standards of quality and on-time performance for our customers.”
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in cutting-edge technologies serving the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital markets. The company’s solutions address critical challenges related to national sovereignty, security, sustainability and inclusion.
Thales invests over €4 billion annually in research and development, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum technologies and cloud computing for mission-critical environments. With a workforce of more than 83,000 employees operating across 68 countries, Thales recorded revenues of €20.6 billion in 2024.
Thales has been active in India since 1953 and is headquartered in Noida, with additional offices and facilities in Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Mumbai and other locations. More than 2,300 professionals are employed by Thales and its joint ventures in the country.
Over the decades, Thales has played a key role in supporting India’s development by transferring technology and expertise across defence, aerospace, and cyber & digital domains. The company operates two Engineering Competence Centres in India—one in Noida focused on Cyber & Digital solutions, and another in Bengaluru specialising in hardware, software and systems engineering for both civilian and defence applications. Thales also runs a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Gurugram, providing comprehensive avionics support to Indian airlines.
SFO Technologies, part of the NeST Group, is a high-technology solutions provider with over 35 years of industry experience. Headquartered in Kochi, India, the company operates 22 manufacturing facilities worldwide and employs more than 8,000 people. SFO delivers end-to-end solutions encompassing hardware design, software development and fully integrated manufacturing of mission-critical and life-critical systems for sectors including defence, aerospace, space, healthcare, industrial manufacturing and transportation.
