FZ Thales
Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier shakes hand with Thales Belgium CEO Alain Quevrin (right) as they launch a new cybersecurity centre.
FZ has been owned by Thales since 2017, and specialises in manufacturing rocket systems and launchers for helicopters and aeroplanes. The company employs 75 people and claims to have sold rockets to 25 countries, and that its weapons are used on over 300 different types of helicopter.
Thales is a major player in the international arms market, selling into conflict zones on all continents. Thales also participates in the militarisation of borders, especially in their European home base.
This machine gun + rocket launcher is the result of a collaboration between FZ Thales and FN Herstal and was exhibited at the DSEI arms fair in London in 2021. It is designed to kill people at ground level, and was displayed 'to illustrate the complementarity between machine guns, guided and unguided rockets'.
CEO: Alain Quévrin
Address: Thales Belgium SA, Rue en bois, 63, 4040 Herstal - Belgium
Website: www.fz.be
Weapons
FZ68 rocket motor
The FZ68 rocket motor is part of a rocket system designed to be fired from a helicopter and has a range of 7700m. The FZ68 can be used with a range of warheads such as the FZ71 "high explosive general purpose", FZ319 "high explosive armour piercing" and FZ149 "multidart".
Child in the village of Ogimba holding a Belgian FZ Thales rocket, January 2020
Several photos posted on social media in January 2020 show unexploded parts of FZ68 rockets in the West Papua highlands. Between January and March of 2020 a series of helicopter attacks bombarded villages in the Intanjaya region, using Belgian made FZ Thales rockets. It is not known which warhead was used during these attacks. The rockets caused damage to housing, farms and churches. While no human casualties were reported, the terror caused by aerial bombardment cannot be underestimated.
FZ Thales rocket motor photographed in Intanjaya March 2020