Last week, Thales and India's MKU Limited had joined hands for the development and production of optronic devices and F90 close quarter battle (CQB) rifle for soldiers. The optronic devices and F90 rifles will be manufactured in India at MKU's facilities in Kanpur. Thales has been providing avionics and other equipment to the state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for over four decades and Ms Sourisse said the company was now looking at expanding the association further. Earlier this week, Thales set up a new office in Bengaluru as part of its plans to strengthening its presence in India. (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)