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Spotlight | France, Israel, Vietnam
IAI beats Airbus and Thales to Vietnamese spy satellite deal

Vietnam's prime minister Pham Minh Chinh. © Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool

While the French contenders have been busy infighting, Israel Aerospace now seems poised to win a contract to supply a military observation satellite to Vietnam. Intelligence Online has the inside track on the four-year battle to secure the order. [...]

Published on 07/09/2021 at 06:00 GMT Reading time 3 minutes

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International Dealmaking

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AIC Group
Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Group
Bertrand Lortholary
Edouard Philippe
Guy Limouzin
Haya Meshel
Israel Aerospace Industries
Jean Castex
Lockheed Martin
Naftali Bennett
Ngo Xuan Lich
Nguyen Phu Trong
Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan
Nicolas Warnery
Pham Minh Chinh
Phan Van Giang
Thales
Thales Alenia Space

France, Vietnam
French companies hone their space intelligence business strategy in Hanoi

French firms now appear to have a well-oiled plan for selling their spy satellites to Hanoi, despite complex procurement conditions brought on by local anti-corruption investigations and the Vietnamese government's approach that is not in line with Paris.

Subscribers only International Dealmaking 17.01.2025

France, Israel, Vietnam
French embassy pushing Airbus for new Vietnam spy satellite despite bumpy past

France has renewed hopes of selling an observation satellite to Vietnam, but the new corruption trial in absentia of businesswoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan in Hanoi could bring back bad memories.

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Subscribers only Surveillance & Interception 10.07.2024

The European Space Agency's (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket before its first launch from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana on 9 July 2024.

Vietnam
Winners and losers among agents in Vietnam's defence restructure

The reorganisation of defence imports and exports continues in Hanoi, with the defence ministry taking care to protect the interests of Viettel High Tech, which has links with the army.

Subscribers only International Dealmaking 23.01.2024

Vietnamese Defence Minister Phan Van Giang.

Philippines, Vietnam
Manila and Hanoi bypass ASEAN on South China Sea dispute

To circumvent the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' unanimity rule, high-level officials from the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia have joined forces to tackle their South China Sea dispute with China.

Subscribers only Government Intelligence 08.12.2023

France
Paris 'explores' technology of F-35s on Guam exercises

Deployed to the American base at Guam as part of its long-range operation Pegasus 23, the French air force is trying to unlock the secrets of the F-35 aircraft.

Subscribers only Surveillance & Interception 24.07.2023

An F-35 aircraft designed by Lockheed Martin.

France, Italy, Vietnam
Thales and Leonardo fight for influence in Hanoi

Defence giant Thales suspects competitor Leonardo of derailing a major contract the group had secured in Vietnam. At the heart of the conflict lies a French hotel developer who was operating covertly for the Italian rival.

Subscribers only International Dealmaking 05.06.2023

France, Vietnam
Convicted Vietnamese defence agent Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan's French connections

Wanted on corruption charges, the former CEO of AIC Group, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, who served as a go-between for Western defence companies in Vietnam, is now on the run in China. Before that, she built an extensive network of contacts in France's political and defence circles.

Subscribers only International Dealmaking 14.04.2023

China, Vietnam
Wanted businesswoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan makes it to China

With the Vietnamese authorities hot on her heels, Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, the businesswoman who helped IAI, Verint and other defence groups enter the Vietnamese market, has gone into hiding. Retracing her footsteps, Intelligence Online has found information to suggest she is now in China.

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United States, Vietnam
Not over for Lockheed Martin on spy satellite tender

The US defence giant Lockheed Martin is back in the running for a contract to provide Vietnam with an observation satellite. With the US willing to evoke ITAR to block the initial winner of the contract, Israel Aerospace Industries, and Airbus seeming to have fallen behind, its chances of taking the lead have increased.

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France, Israel, Vietnam
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While the French embassy in Vietnam is still hoping that Airbus might land an earth observation satellite order, the Vietnamese government appears unready to commit, marking what could be the end of this central project in the two countries' bilateral defence cooperation and a blow to French chances of further defence contracts in Vietnam.

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France
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Russia, United Kingdom, Vietnam
Russian-Vietnamese firm Sovico at centre of PCV anti-corruption storm

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao's much-awaited £155m gift to Oxford University is slow in coming due to the businesswoman's entanglement in the Vietnamese Communist Party's anti-corruption campaign and her company Sovico's supposed involvement in energy and weapons contracts with Russia.

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Businesswoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Sovico's CEO.

Vietnam
PM Pham Minh Chinh gets embroiled in AIC Group corruption case

Vietnam's communist party general secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong, is on a mission to fight corruption. He has AIC Group in his sights especially, with new developments in the case pointing to a possible involvement of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

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His Excellency Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, participates in the US-ASEAN Special Summit at the US State Department in Washington, DC, on May 13, 2022.

Vietnam
Public security minister To Lam orchestrates the score-settling in ongoing anti-corruption drive

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Vietnam Minister of Public Security To Lam.

Vietnam
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Spotlight | Europe, Poland
Thales and Airbus compete for Polish spy satellites contract

Poland's plans to acquire two observation satellites for its armed forces from French partners have opened a new chapter in the rivalry between the two industrial groups Thales and Airbus.

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France, Vietnam
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh talks satellites and energy in Paris

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Subscribers only International Dealmaking 08.11.2021

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh at the Elysée Palace.

Spotlight | Russia, Vietnam
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Russian foreign affairs minister Serguei Lavrov with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son.

Israel, United States
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France
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Spotlight | Vietnam
Vietnamese army and security services compete for control of cyber contracts

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Subscribers only International Dealmaking 30.04.2021

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AIC Group
Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Group
Bertrand Lortholary
Edouard Philippe
Guy Limouzin
Haya Meshel
Israel Aerospace Industries
Jean Castex
Lockheed Martin
Naftali Bennett
Ngo Xuan Lich
Nguyen Phu Trong
Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan
Nicolas Warnery
Pham Minh Chinh
Phan Van Giang
Thales
Thales Alenia Space

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This article may be accessed by subscribers

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create a free account

Set up email notifications for these topics

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Central America, China, South America
Beijing on the offensive in Washington's spheres of influence

China, Europe, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States
The geopolitical power plays in Earth observation

France
Intelligence memos and grey zones before French courts

Ukraine
Jamming wars

Armenia, Azerbaijan, France
Information wars in the Caucasus

Insiders | China
Security, propaganda and the PLA: Xi Jinping forges new networks of influence

Insiders | Qatar
Barzan Holdings, Qatar's defence industry giant springing up out of the desert

Spotlight | France, Israel, Vietnam
IAI beats Airbus and Thales to Vietnamese spy satellite deal

France, Vietnam
French companies hone their space intelligence business strategy in Hanoi

France, Israel, Vietnam
French embassy pushing Airbus for new Vietnam spy satellite despite bumpy past

Europe, France
Will Ariane 6 save France's space sector from 'Splendid Isolation' in Europe?

Vietnam
Winners and losers among agents in Vietnam's defence restructure

Philippines, Vietnam
Manila and Hanoi bypass ASEAN on South China Sea dispute

France
Paris 'explores' technology of F-35s on Guam exercises

France, Italy, Vietnam
Thales and Leonardo fight for influence in Hanoi

France, Vietnam
Convicted Vietnamese defence agent Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan's French connections

China, Vietnam
Wanted businesswoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan makes it to China

United States, Vietnam
Not over for Lockheed Martin on spy satellite tender

France, Israel, Vietnam
Vietnam baulks at Airbus's observation satellite proposal

France
France's online influence warfare doctrine makes slow progress in face of administrative complexities

Russia, United Kingdom, Vietnam
Russian-Vietnamese firm Sovico at centre of PCV anti-corruption storm

Vietnam
PM Pham Minh Chinh gets embroiled in AIC Group corruption case

Vietnam
Public security minister To Lam orchestrates the score-settling in ongoing anti-corruption drive

Vietnam
Despite corruption probes, Vietnam still holds appeal for cyber companies

Spotlight | Europe, Poland
Thales and Airbus compete for Polish spy satellites contract

France, Vietnam
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh talks satellites and energy in Paris

Spotlight | Russia, Vietnam
Moscow strengthens ties with Hanoi in response to Indo-Pacific diplomatic shift

Israel, United States
IAI under pressure to break into the US market

France
France pushes for more intelligence-sharing in Indo-Pacific

Spotlight | Vietnam
Vietnamese army and security services compete for control of cyber contracts

Israel, United States, Vietnam
New prime minister Chinh acts to restore order in the country's arms procurement business

Israel, United States, Vietnam
Corruption suspicions in Hanoi freeze defence deals

Israel, Vietnam
Covid-19 has impact on Elbit and IAI in Hanoi

Europe, Israel, United States
Airbus, Thales enter fray for Hanoi intelligence observation satellite

Israel
IAI drones will take to Vietnam's skies

France, Israel, South Korea
How IAI Beat Thales in South Korea