Denmark awards multi-million euro night vision contract to small Theon affiliate

DALO, The Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation, has awarded a multi-million contract for night vision equipment.

According to tender documents, the contract is a five-year framework agreement with an option to extend for a further two years. DALO intends to procure 8,600 night vision goggles.

The contract has an estimated value of DKK 480 million, equivalent to approximately 64 million euro, with a maximum ceiling of DKK 680 million, or around 91 million euro.

The award has been made without competition to T Industries DK ApS, the Danish affiliate of the Greek technology group Theon in Cyprus.

The Danish affiliate is a relatively small entity, reporting gross profit of 45 million euro in 2024.

Absence of competition

DALO states that it can only procure additional night vision goggles from T Industries DK ApS due to "technical reasons and the protection of exclusive rights".

It adds that Theon Group, of which T Industries DK ApS is part, holds the design rights to the Argus FS goggles. 

- In addition, for personnel safety reasons, DALO requires full and specific interoperability with existing night vision goggles already supplied by Theon, DALO states.

DALO further assesses that there are no reasonable alternatives to a direct award. The tender documents state that "the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing of alternative procurement conditions".

Theon develops and manufactures customisable night vision and thermal imaging systems for military and security applications. The company says it has a global footprint spanning 71 countries.

According to Theon, the Argus range comprises MIL-SPEC image-intensified, multi-purpose monocular systems that can be operated as hand-held, helmet-mounted or weapon-mounted devices.