Thales

Thales is a French-headquartered defence multinational.

Thales made the brand of missiles controversially deployed around the London Olympic Games site in 2012.

It also makes the notorious Watchkeeper drones, which were recently revealed to have so far cost the British taxpayer £1 billion pound over the past 12 years. These aircraft are maintained by a UK-based joint venture called UAS Tactical Systems Ltd (U-TacS) with Israel's Elbit Systems, (which designed the original Hermes 450 drone that the Watchkeeper was based on). called UAS Tactical Systems Ltd (U-TacS).

Revolving door appointments

• James Arbuthnot, former Conservative MP
• Timothy Granville-Chapman
• Lord Powell, member of the advisory board circa 2015
• Craig Stevenson
• Ann Taylor

MOD contracts

In March 2018 UK Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, announced the MOD had signed a contract to spend almost £4million with Thales and General Dynamics Land Systems-UK to deliver a vehicle-mounted acoustic shot detection system, named the Acusonic sensor, which can sense and report the direction of incoming enemy fire.