On June 24 2008, the last of MILIS (Milan Lightweight Infrared System) thermal sights rolled out of Theon Sensors production line in Koropi, Greece. A total of 147 of these sights were manufactured in Greece by the local company, Theon Sensors, as part of a contract signed with Sagem Défense Sécurité (Paris, France).
The MILIS thermal sights were a major part of a contract, which was signed in 2003 between the Hellenic Ministry of National Defense and Euromissile, for the upgrade of the MILAN anti-tank system of the Hellenic Army.
The ceremony occurred with the presence of representatives from the General Directorate for Defence Investments and Armaments, the Hellenic Army General Staff, the Embassies of France and Germany in Athens, as well as representatives of Euromissile and Sagem Défense Securite.
The contract between Theon Sensors and Sagem Defense Securite was signed in October 2004 and the project was implemented as planned while all deliveries were made according to the agreed upon schedule. This program serves as a testimony of a successful cooperation, undertaken in the frame of Industrial Cooperation between the French company and the Greek MoD and included technology transfer, training and sub-contracting work. The work performed by Theon Sensors included fabrication of sight components, assembly, integration and testing as well as final qualification and acceptance tests which were carried out for every sight in the presence of Sagem Défense Sécurité representatives.
The MILIS thermal imager is a member of the MATIS third generation family of thermal imagers currently developed and produced by Sagem Défense Sécurite. The MILIS uses an afocal type of configuration which means that, it does not have its own aiming system; it is attached on the MILAN day sight thus allowing the use of the main aiming system at night or under low light conditions.
During his address speech, the representative of Sagem Défense Sécurité expressed the company’s satisfaction for the successful cooperation between the two companies and announced that they are in final negotiations for the placement of a new follow on order to Theon Sensors for additional MILIS thermal imagers to fulfill requirements of an international customer.
The President of Theon Sensors, Mr Christian Hadjiminas, mentioned that during the last 12 months the company received orders (mainly for exports) in the order of &uro;70M as opposed to its 2007 turnover of &uro;12M, while its current backlog stands at &uro;92M. Theon currently participates in procurements in 21 countries around the world amounting to &uro;75M.