How THEON SENSORS became a world leader in night-vision and thermal-imaging systems

The leading night vision manufacturer focuses on New Zealand with full through-life support delivered by Tactical Solutions’ service centres in Trentham and Auckland.

With production facilities and head office in Athens, as well as offices in Arlington, Kempen, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Singapore, and co-production facilities in Middle and Far East, THEON SENSORS is today one of the Market Leaders in man portable Night Vision and Thermal Systems for military and security applications.

Set up in 1997, THEON SENSORS has grown from a supplier to its domestic market in Greece to one of the leading global players, with more than 100,000 of its systems in use in more than 55 counties worldwide, and a de facto best-in-class designation from the US Department of Defense (DoD).

THEON SENSORS owns all of its technologies and thus is in full control of the complete design, testing and manufacturing process. Its manufacturing facilities and personnel have NATO security clearance for defence related projects. About 90 percent of its business activity is exportoriented.

Before their entry onto the market, all THEON SENSORS’ systems undergo rigorous testing following military standard procedures, with the highest quality assurance and control criteria. Their high-tech features, workmanship and quality satisfy the demands of Five Eyes (New Zealand, Australia, Canada, UK, USA) endusers.

From its first international contract award in 2004 for the supply of night driver viewers to the Australian Defence Force, many export contracts followed in Europe, including with the Swedish Armed Forces, The Netherlands, and Denmark, while entering into coproduction partnerships in various Asian countries.

In 2013, THEON SENSORS launched the NYX night vision binocular in response to the apparent global trend of end users switching from monocular or bi-ocular to binocular systems. After a series of smaller contracts, THEON SENSORS continued its success with two breakthrough contracts for the NYX for the German Army and the German Special Forces KSK.

In cooperation with the KSK, the NYX binocular underwent an 18 month acceptance test period during which the system was tested in arctic, desert and jungle environments. The resulting modifications and upgrades produced an upgraded NYX providing outstanding optical performance at low weight without compromise to the system’s robustness or ergonomics.

THEON SENSORS continued its international success with contracts in Poland, Latvia, Portugal, Austria and Germany, while THEON SENSORS’ partner SAFRAN-Vectronix received contracts award from the Swiss Army for the supply of THEON’s night vision binoculars.

In mid-2019, THEON SENSORS celebrated a major breakthrough when its US local partner accomplished an export contract for the Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle (SBNVG) program of the US Marine Corps.

THEON SENSORS’ US partner awarded a five-year contract to supply THEON’s NYX system – designated as F5032 and manufactured in the USA – to the US Marine Corps. The contract is expected to result in the delivery of more than 14,000 systems up to September 2024.

The above export successes confirm the dominant market of THEON SENSORS in Europe and international arena and demonstrate its potential to export high-tech products for the armed forces of the most powerful countries of the world. What is so special about THEON SENSORS’ products? THEON SENSORS is constantly improving the quality and value of its products for the benefit of all military and law enforcement customers.

“We have major contracts in the US night vision market. We are working in Europe with two of the largest aerospace and defence companies. With one of them, we recently won the largest EU night vision tender,” explained Mr Philippe Mennicken, Business Development Director, THEON SENSORS. “Now we’re arrived in New Zealand where we work with Tactical Solutions.”

“Long-term investment in building up industrial cooperation and true partnerships around the world has started paying off. We do not just seek to export, we promote local industrial cooperation, transferring technology and know-how.”

The company is continuously investing in the field of R&D. “We have increased the number of our engineers, we have expanded the design of new products in new categories, such as night vision optronics in the civil sector, thermal products for fire safety systems, while emphasising on new larger platforms and the interconnectivity of these products,” said Mr Mennicken.

THEON SENSORS in New Zealand Tactical Solutions, supplier of New Zealand Defence Force since 1999, is working closely with THEON SENSORS in promotion and after sales support to the NZDF. Tactical Solutions’ offices and showroom are located right next to the Trentham Military Camp.

Learn more about THEON SENSORS through www.theon.com