Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer recently announced Thales would supply 5,000 missiles in a deal worth up to £1.6billion

Northern Ireland’s first minister says she would rather see money invested in public services than in ‘weapons of war’

A Belfast factory is set to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine as part of a deal announced by the British prime minister. The Thales factory, which is located in east Belfast, had previously been awarded a contract to manufacture 650 lightweight multirole missiles (LMMs) for the country.

Belfast factory lands £1.6 Billion deal to supply air defence missiles for Ukraine. Our economics and business editor John Campbell, Professor David Galbreath from University of Bath, People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll, and Greg Swenson from Republicans Overseas discuss.

The missiles will be produced at Thales in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the order will create 200 jobs and support 700 existing ones.

Northern Ireland's First Minister has said she is "incredulous" at a large order for a Belfast company to supply missiles for Ukraine.

Thales Northern Ireland has been awarded an initial £1.16bn to manufacture over 5,000 lightweight-multirole missiles (LMM) for Ukraine’s armed forces. The deal will see production of LMMs at Thales’s Belfast factory treble, creating 200 new jobs and supporting hundreds more.

An order for a missile factory in Belfast to supply 5,000 air defence missiles to Ukraine is "hugely significant" for the workforce, DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said.

The new contract, initially valued at £1.16bn with potential extensions up to £500m, will see Thales Northern Ireland working alongside a Ukrainian industry partner.