Reliance Defence to form a joint venture with Thales for developing military hardware

Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) on Wednesday announced its subsidiary Reliance Defence’s intent to form a joint venture (JV) with French aerospace and defence electronics major Thales to develop skills and activity in military hardware. “The JV is to develop Indian capabilities to integrate and maintain the radar and electronic warfare sensors for fighter aircraft,” RInfra and Thales said in a joint statement following the signing of the agreement in Paris. “The JV will develop skills and activity in the Special Economic Zone of Mihan-Nagpur together with an Indian supply chain for the manufacturing of microwave technologies and high performance airborne electronics,” the statement said. While Reliance Defence will hold 51 per cent stake in the JV, Thales will have the remaining 49 per cent equity. “Thales is another major milestone in our march towards best-in-the-class manufacturing at support facilities for military hardware in India,” Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani said in the statement. Thales Chairman Patrice Caine said: “This JV resonates with our strategy to strengthen our industrial footprint in the country by building collaborations with the Indian industry.” On Tuesday, another RInfra subsidiary – Reliance Defence Ammunition – entered into a strategic partnership with Serbia’s Yugoimport to work together in ammunition manufacturing in India with a projected minimum requirement valued at Rs 20,000 crore over the next 10 years from the Indian armed forces.