North's missile firm in boom time

In the late 1950s a team of talented engineers and scientists were instructed by their bosses at Short Brothers, the British government-owned aircraft manufacturer, to find something new to do.

The result of this quest became known as Shorts Missile Systems and, until last year, it was one of the most respected names in the global defence industry.

Now there is a new name above the entrance to one of the North's top high-tech facilities, which sits in the heart of east Belfast.

The French group Thales, a global electronics giant that specialises in aerospace, defence and information technology markets, acquired a 100 per cent holding in Shorts Missiles Systems early last year.

Canadian group Bombardier and Thales predecessor Thompson Thomson-CSF had jointly owned the company.

Today Thales Air Defence is part of a global group that has operations in more than 30 countries and 65,000 employees worldwide.

Since Thales acquired the former Shorts company, the Belfast division has won more than £100 million sterling (€158 million) of new business, mainly from the Ministry of Defence in Britain.

Thales's Northern Ireland operation is going from strength of strength and is on a major recruitment drive to attract new graduates and scientists to expand its operations at its second site in the North at Crossgar.

Last month Thales won a £66 million contract from the Ministry of Defence, which will create 30 high-tech and highly skilled jobs at the company.

The French group currently employs 550 people at its two sites in Northern Ireland, and there is a major research and development investment earmarked for the division.

The Northern Ireland division specialises in the design, development and manufacture of missiles but, according to Mr Terry Stone, chief executive of Thales Air Defence, the group's mission statement is "counter defence".

"This industry has a long history in Belfast. We have been making missiles here for more than 40 years. This company's predecessor introduced the first missile in service to the British navy in the early 1960s - we are in fact one of the oldest missile companies in the world," Mr Stone said.

He estimates however than less than 10 per cent of the missiles produced in Northern Ireland have been used in an aggressive situation.

Mr Stone argues that the role of Thales is to provide governments around the world with a "counter measure" product and believes this ethos is an important part of the company's culture.

"Our business is really about innovation. The defence business is about constant striving to come up with new ideas that nobody has ever thought.

"Our business is counter measure to counter measure to counter measure. We are always thinking ahead," Mr Stone said.

Thales Air Defence produces 12 key products in Northern Ireland, the most important of which are its missiles, including the Starstreak and Starburst systems. Both are likely to guarantee Thales Air Defence a revenue stream for at least 30 years and, according to Mr Stone, Northern Ireland is well positioned to continue to play a key role within the French group.

It is a major employer of graduates from the North's two universities but now faces stiff competition.

He said the French group plans to spend more than £3 million this year on in-house research and development and has won a £10 million commission to provide research and development to different governmental sources.