Thales partners with Tawazun to set up optronic MRO facilities in UAE

Strategic partnership to boost self-reliance of UAE defence industry

At the ongoing Dubai Airshow 2025, Tawazun Council, an organisation of the United Arab Emirates, has reached an agreement with French defence electronics firm Thales to develop local Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) capabilities for optronic systems in the UAE.

The Tawazun Council for Defence Enablement (Tawazun) and Thales a global leader in advanced technologies have signed an agreement during the Dubai Airshow 2025 to develop local Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) capabilities for optronic systems under the Tawazun Economic Programme.

In a press statement, Thales says that the agreement marks a major step towards highlighting the UAE’s defence industrial base by enabling the transfer of advanced technical expertise, developing a skilled local workforce, and promoting self-sufficiency in critical technologies. In the long term, the initiative aims to enhance operational readiness, minimise dependency on foreign support, and position UAE as a regional hub for high-precision optronic MRO services.

It adds that aligned with the nation’s broader vision for sustainable industrial growth, the partnership also supports efforts to increase local content contribution within the defence and technology sectors.

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According to the statement partners will facilitate the transfer of know-how, technology, procedures, and processes required to perform operational and intermediate-level maintenance for optronic systems within the UAE.

Under the agreement, Thales will provide the technical expertise, specialised tools, rights, and certifications necessary to empower EDGE’s Electro Optics Centre of Excellence (EOCE) to perform maintenance locally. The certification of EOCE will validate its technical competency, infrastructure, management, and quality processes, ensuring compliance with international standards and in alignment with the Programme’s objectives.

The collaboration also focusses on training and upskilling UAE Nationals employed at EDGE’s EOCE, equipping them with the competencies required to perform both operational and intermediate-level maintenance, thereby promoting knowledge transfer, localisation, and industrial resilience.

“This partnership with Thales and EDGE represents a strategic step towards enhancing local capabilities in optronic systems maintenance and supporting the UAE’s goal of defence self-reliance. This initiative also contributes to developing national expertise and creating new knowledge and industrial opportunities, ensuring sustainable operational readiness within the country,” says Majed Al Shamsi, Executive Director, Tawazun Economic Programme, Tawazun Council for Defence Enablement.

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“Through this agreement, we are committed to transferring advanced knowledge and technologies to Emirati professionals, empowering them to perform both operational and intermediate-level maintenance locally. This reflects Tawazun’s vision of enabling national capabilities and fostering industrial and strategic growth,” Al Shamsi ads.

“This agreement reflects our long-term commitment to supporting the UAE’s defence ecosystem with world-class expertise, technology and industrial capability. By enabling advanced optronics maintenance within the country, we are strengthening operational readiness while contributing to national self-reliance. Partnering with Tawazun and EDGE allows us to build sustainable, locally anchored competencies that will shape the next generation of sovereign defence capability in the UAE,” says Abdelhafid Mordi, Vice President Thales in UAE, Iraq, and CEO, Thales Emarat Technologies.