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Activists target Thales with claims of explosives used in Israeli bombs

By Christine McKee

Jun 18, 2026

Thales is the only company in Australia that designs, manufactures and certifies military relevant solid rocket motors, rocket motor cases, and exhaust nozzles. Photo by Defence Connect, Private Oscar Hanson

A dozen peace activists staged a protest at the Melbourne office of French weapons company Thales at noon on Thursday demanding an end to their claims that weapons are being exported from Australia to Israel.

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Several activists dressed in blood spattered shirts with bullet holes ascended to the third floor of the World Trade Centre, attached the Thales logo to the blank wall of the company’s office, along with posters condemning Thales and the Albanese government, and displayed a banner reading “We make explosives for Israeli bombs.”

The protest was in response to a recent expose revealing that explosive chemicals produced in the Thales factories at Mulwala and Benalla are shipped to Israel via the United States and Singapore with the full knowledge of the Australian government.

Some protestors dressed as mourners and paraded through the food court on the ground floor of the World Trade Centre handing out leaflets entitled “From Thales to Genocide”.

In January 2023, Thales Australia welcomed the Australian government’s $37.4 million contract with Lockheed Martin Australia to commence manufacturing of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) from 2025.

Thales Australia runs the explosives manufacture and filling facilities at Mulwala and Benalla and is the only company in Australia that can design, manufacture and certify military relevant solid rocket motors, rocket motor cases, and exhaust nozzles.

In 2021 the company invested $6 million in new state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing equipment at Mulwala to rapidly accelerate sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability.