Thales in Singapore: a long presence in many peak areas

For nearly 50 years, the French group Thales has been present in Singapore in the fields of aerospace, defence, security and transport. The recent awarding of a new contract worth nearly $32 million to replace or install 1,350 of the MRT's access gates provides an opportunity to look back at the many facets of this group in this country.

Thales, a flagship of the French military-industrial complex

Thales is a French electronics group specializing in defence, aeronautics, space, transport and security. today one of the world leaders in equipment for aeronautics and defence. The group under this name was born in the late 90s from the combination of the military activities of Alcatel, Dassault Electronics and Thomson CSF. It has therefore inherited a long history, that of Thomson, born at the end of the 19th century. Its various activities are based on a base of cross-disciplinary technologies and skills (now linked to digital) and on a common mission: the mastery of so-called "critical" systems, i.e. vital for the proper functioning and development of societies.

Thales today has approximately 80,000 employees in 56 countries, including Singapore, where it has been present since 1973. Today, it employs 2,100 people at four sites (21 and 28 Changi North Rise; 12 Ayer Rajah Crescent and Digital Factory @ WeWork in 5 ek Boulevard). It operates in four areas: aerospace, defense and security, ground transportation, and, more recently, identity and digital security.

Aerospace, Thales' first activity in Singapore

In the early 1970s, Thales set up in Singapore to support the expansion of the Airbus fleet in the Asia- Peaceful. Its activities gradually extended to other types of aircraft, such as Boeing and ATR, and covered the maintenance of on-board electronics, including entertainment systems to entertain passengers in flight. Singapore Airlines and Air France use this equipment. The latest innovation inaugurated by Singapore Airlines is to offer passengers the possibility of using them to order products from their seat and have them delivered either to their home or on a later flight.

Thales has built industrial capacity in Singapore for the production and maintenance of on-board electronics in the aircraft of regional airlines. More than 40,000 equipment components are repaired there every year, making Singapore the group's most important center in this field.

In 2013, the group also equipped Changi with systems to efficiently manage air traffic at this airport, the busiest in Southeast Asia (nearly 70 million passengers in 2019).

A supplier of key MRT components

Half of Singapore's lines use Thales ticketing systems.

In 2012, the group won the contracts to upgrade the signaling systems for the NS and EW lines, a project completed in 2018, not without problems. Indeed, on November 15, 2017, a collision took place between two trains at Joo Koon station, with 28 people injured. The cause was quickly clarified, and after apologizing, Thales remedied it. This has made these lines more reliable and trains more frequent.

The contract announced in recent days will concern the replacement by 2026 of the gates of three existing MRT lines (NSL, EWL, and CCL) and the installation of gates on the new JRL line (Jurong Region Line) which will will open in three stages between 2027 and 2029.

A long-term relationship with the Singaporean government

For many years, Thales has supplied the Singaporean armed forces with air defense and communications equipment and marine sensors, such as multifunction radars Héraclès for the “Formidable” frigates of the Singapore Navy built in the 2000s on a French model. The group also works closely with the Singapore Navy in the field of unmanned systems.

Since 1995, he has worked with the Singaporean Ministry of Home Affairs on major incident management projects for police and civil security command centres.

In 2010, Thales won a contract to monitor the apron at Changi Airport.

Thales also has expertise in cybersecurity in Singapore for risk assessments and penetration testing.

The acquisition of Gemalto in 2019, an opening on new perspectives in Singapore

Gemalto was the world leader in smart cards for mobile phones. Its acquisition has enabled Thales to expand its market in Singapore and Southeast Asia, serving banks, telecom operators, governments, and enterprises with the widest range of solutions based on technologies such as biometrics, data protection and cybersecurity. The group's largest factory is located in Singapore and operates around the clock to produce micromodules, bank cards, RFID tags, and electronic passport pages for more than 100 countries. This is where biometric passports for Singaporean citizens have been produced since 2017.

Thales Singapore is also home to a skills center of 350 engineers in this field.

Research, technology and innovation at Thales Singapore

Singapore is home to one of the Group's five research and technology laboratories worldwide. It builds on and complements Singapore's extensive research and development ecosystem. The state-of-the-art techniques developed there make it possible to meet local needs and improve the group's product range. It is also a place of exchange between the group, on the one hand, and local researchers and users, on the other.

Since 2009, Thales has developed strategic partnerships with the NTU (National Technological University) through joint laboratories, to promote research in nanotechnology and contribute to new concepts and techniques for systems used in small satellites (between 1 and 100 kg).

In 2018, the group launched a digital factory in Singapore to accelerate the innovation and digital transformation of the group and its customers in the region.

Finally, last September, Thales entered into a partnership with the NUS (National University of Singapore) to develop and test quantum technologies for commercial applications.