BAE Systems

The Aircraft of British Aerospace and BAE SYSTEMS 1977 - 2017 13

From British AerospAce to BAe sYstems 19 77-

monopoly in warship manufacture in
the domestic market with the takeover
of VT Group.

BAE takes over UK and US
military vehicle manufacturers
In March 2005 BAE SYSTEMS planted its
flag firmly at the centre of the US defence
market by a takeover of United Defense
Industries, manufacturer of Bradley
armoured fighting vehicles. This was BAE’s
biggest takeover since its 1999 merger of
the old British Aerospace with GEC’s
Marconi defence businesses. It also meant
that that the US Department of Defense,
not Britain’s Ministry of Defence, would
become the company’s largest customer.
Clearly this was part of BAE’s strategy of
becoming a transatlantic defence and
aerospace contractor.
UDI was best-known for its Bradley
fighting vehicles, for howitzers and for
providing all the guns for the US Navy.
BAE’s existing armoured vehicles business
in the UK, centred on Challenger tank
manufacturer Alvis Vickers, which BAE had
taken over in 2004, was now subsumed
into BAE’s enlarged Land Systems
business, with headquarters in Arlington
County, Virginia near Washington D.C. The
takeover of Alvis had also provided BAE
with a monopoly of UK military vehicle
manufacture.
In a continuation of its strategy to
expand its holdings in the US, BAE
expanded its US holdings two years later
with the acquisition of Armor Holdings,
US maker of military vehicles and body
armour. With this purchase, BAE further
strengthened its position in the USA, a
market from which it was already making
40% of its total sales.

BAE sells its holding in Airbus

After cancellation of the Avro RJX in 2001,

BAE’s only civil programme was Airbus

wing production at Broughton and Filton.

With the formation of EADS in 2000 when

Aerospatiale, Deutsche Airbus and CASA

all merged, BAE was left out in the cold at

Airbus with just a 20% stake in it. Not a

happy position for a large player like BAE

and in September 2006 when Airbus was

having problems with the A380, BAE sold

its share for £1.87bn. This marked BAE’s

final disengagement from civil aircraft

manufacture.

More Saudi sales

A contract for 72 Eurofighter Typhoon

multi-role fighters assembled at Warton

was signed in August 2006. BAE stated

that it had earned £43 billion in twenty

years from Saudi contracts and that it

could earn £40 billion more. It is Britain’s

largest ever export agreement, and

employs upwards of 5,000 people in

Saudi Arabia.

BAE SYSTEMS Australia

becomes that country’s largest

defence contractor

Just as BAE was expanding operations in

the USA, at the beginning of 2008 BAE

consolidated its position in Australia to

became the country’s largest defence

contractor.

Cyber security

The company’s strategy has not only

been to expand into traditional forms of

defence but also to invest in Cyber

security and it made several purchases to

strengthen and develop its position. It

aims to help nations, governments and

businesses to defend themselves against

cybercrime, reduce their risk in this

connected world, comply with regulation

and transform their operations.

UK Defence cuts 2010 –

Harrier and Nimrod axed

In 2010 there was change of Government

in the UK and the new administration

carried out some huge cuts to the armed

forces. The Nimrod MRA4 which was

about to enter service was cancelled and

all the airframes scrapped, the Harrier

force was grounded and sold off as

spares to the US Marines. Owing to the

loss of Harrier work at Warton, Hawk final

assembly was relocated from Brough to

Warton.

BAE SYSTEMS now

The company continues to look to

develop its position in the world. In 2012

detailed talks took place about linking up

with EADS which would have been a

grand British – French – German –

Spanish Aerospace and Defence grouping

but political opposition in Germany was

rumoured to have been the problem with

progressing this further.

BAE SYSTEMS has similarities with that

famous British company, Vickers-

Armstrongs which was an armaments,

tank, warship and aircraft manufacturer,

which exported its products all over the

world. BAE is the prime contractor of all

the UK’s major defence projects;

Typhoon, F-35, Hawk, the Astute class

and successor nuclear submarines, the

two aircraft carriers, the Type 26 frigates

and armoured fighting vehicles and is

the world’s third largest defence

contractor. ■

‡ Typhoon FGR

ZK358 and the sole

Taranis ZZ250 at

Warton. In July 2010

BAE unveiled its

low-observable

UCAV technology

demonstrator,

Taranis to the

aviation media at

Warton. Taranis is a

UK-only technology

demonstrator, with

BAE Systems

heading a joint

MoD/industry team.

(BAE SYSTEMS)