British Aerospace
Encyclopedia
British Aerospace plc was a UK
aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough
, Hampshire
. In 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems
, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, to form BAE Systems
.
as a statutory corporation on 29 April 1977 as a result of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act. This called for the nationalisation and merger of the British Aircraft Corporation
, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and Scottish Aviation
. In 1979 BAe officially joined Airbus
, the UK having previously withdrawn support for the consortium in April 1969.
In accordance with the provisions of the British Aerospace Act 1980 the statutory corporation was changed to a Public limited company
(plc), British Aerospace Public Limited Company, on 1 January 1981. On 4 February 1981 the government sold 51.57% of its shares. The British government sold its remaining shares in 1985, maintaining a £1 Golden Share
which allows it veto foreign control of the board or company.
On 26 September 1985, the UK and Saudi Arabia
n governments signed the Al Yamamah
contract, with BAe as prime contractor. The contracts, extended in the 1990s and never fully detailed, involved the supply of Panavia Tornado
strike and air defence aircraft, Hawk
trainer jets, Rapier missile
systems, infrastructure works and naval vessels. The Al Yamamah deals are valued at anything up to £20 billion and still continue to provide a large percentage of BAE Systems' profits. With Alenia Aeronautica
, CASA
and DASA
, BAe formed Eurofighter GmbH
in 1986 for the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon. On 22 April 1987 BAe acquired Royal Ordnance
, the British armaments manufacturer, for £190 million. Heckler & Koch GmbH
was folded into this division when BAe acquired it in 1991. In 1988 BAe purchased the Rover Group
which was being privatised by the British government.
In 1991 BAe acquired a 30% interest acquired in Hutchison Telecommunications and formed a naval systems joint venture, BAeSEMA
, with the Sema Group
. BAe acquired Sema's 50% share in 1998. 1991 also saw BAe begin to experience major difficulties. BAe saw its share price fall below 100p for the first time. On 9 September 1991, the company issued a profits warning and later that week "bungled" the launch of a £432 million rights issue
. On 25 September 1991 BAe directors led by CEO Richard Evans
ousted the Chairman Professor Sir Roland Smith
in a move described by The Independent
as "one of the most spectacular and brutal boardroom coups witnessed in many years." Evans described the troubles as a confluence of events:
In 1992 BAe formed Avro RJ Regional Jets to produce the Avro RJ series, an evolution of the BAe 146
. In mid-1992 BAe wrote off £1 billion of assets, largely as part of redundancies and restructuring of its regional aircraft division. This was largest asset write-off in UK corporate history. It is interesting to note that The General Electric Company (GEC), later to sell its defence interests to BAe, came close to acquiring BAe at this time. BAe cut 47% of its workforce (60,000 out of 127,000), 40,000 of which were from the regional aircraft division.
Evans decided to sell non-core businesses (these "non-core" activities included The Rover Group, Arlington Securities, BAe Corporate Jets, BAe Communications and Ballast Nedam). Although the rationale of diversification was sound (to shield the company from cyclical aerospace and defence markets) the struggling company could not afford to continue the position: "We simply could not afford to carry two core businesses, cars and aerospace. At one point Rover was eating up about £2 billion of our banking capacity." BAe Corporate Jets Ltd and Arkansas Aerospace Inc were sold to Raytheon
in 1993. In 1994 the Rover Group was sold to BMW
and British Aerospace Space Systems
was sold to Matra Marconi Space
. In 1998 BAe's shareholding of Orange plc was reduced to 5%. The Orange shareholding was a legacy of the 30% stake in Hutchison Telecommunications (UK) Ltd when Hutchison exchanged its own shares for a mobile phone company (Microtel Communications Ltd) from BAe.
BAeSEMA, Siemens Plessey
and GEC-Marconi formed UKAMS Ltd in 1994 as part of the Principal Anti-Air Missile System
(PAAMS) consortium. UKAMS would become a wholly owned subsidiary of BAe Dynamics in 1998. In 1995 Saab Military Aircraft
and BAe signed an agreement for the joint development and marketing of the export version of the JAS 39 Gripen
. In 1996 BAe and Matra Defense agreed to merge their missile businesses into a joint venture called Matra BAe Dynamics
. In 1997 BAe joined the Lockheed Martin
X-35 Joint Strike Fighter
team. The company acquired the UK operations of Siemens Plessey Systems
(SPS) in 1998 from Siemens AG
. DASA purchased SPS' German assets.
to form a pan-European aerospace giant. A merger deal was negotiated between Richard Evans and DASA CEO Jürgen Schrempp
. However when it became clear that GEC was selling its defence electronics business Marconi Electronic Systems
, Evans put the DASA merger on hold in favour of purchasing Marconi. Evans stated that in 2004 that his fear was that an American defence contractor would acquire Marconi and challenge both BAe and DASA. Schrempp was angered by Evans' actions and chose instead to merge DASA with Aerospatiale to create the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). This group was joined by Spain’s CASA following an agreement in December 1999.
The GEC merger to create a UK company compared to what would have been an Anglo-German firm, made the possibility of further penetration of the United States (US) defence market more likely. The company, initially called "New British Aerospace", was officially formed on 30 November 1999 and known as BAE Systems.
report gives a ten-year aggregate figure of £45 billion, with defence sales accounting for approximately 80%.
("douceurs") to members of the Saudi royal family
and government officials. Some allegations suggested that the former Prime Minister's son Mark Thatcher
may have been involved, however he has strongly denied receiving payments or exploiting his mother's connections in his business dealings. The UK National Audit Office investigated the contracts and has so far never released its conclusions - the only NAO report ever to be withheld. The BBC's Newsnight
observed that it is ironic that the once classified report analysing the construction of MI5's
Thames House
and MI6's Vauxhall Cross
headquarters has been released, but the Al Yamamah report is still deemed too sensitive.
The 2007 documentary film Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines
contained evidence that vital data was withheld from a 1999-2000 Australian Senate Inqury into the health and flight safety issues relating to oil fumes on the BAe 146
. The film also contains an Australian Senator speech about money being paid for silence by BAe on the fumes issues relating to the BAe 146
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. In 1999 it purchased Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems , or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of The General Electric Company . It was demerged from GEC and acquired by British Aerospace on November 30, 1999 to form BAE Systems...
, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, to form BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
.
History
The company was formed in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a statutory corporation on 29 April 1977 as a result of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act. This called for the nationalisation and merger of the British Aircraft Corporation
British Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and Scottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation Limited was a Scottish aircraft manufacturer, based at Prestwick in South Ayrshire.-History:Originally a flying school operator the company took on maintenance work in 1938....
. In 1979 BAe officially joined Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
, the UK having previously withdrawn support for the consortium in April 1969.
In accordance with the provisions of the British Aerospace Act 1980 the statutory corporation was changed to a Public limited company
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
(plc), British Aerospace Public Limited Company, on 1 January 1981. On 4 February 1981 the government sold 51.57% of its shares. The British government sold its remaining shares in 1985, maintaining a £1 Golden Share
Golden Share
A Golden Share is a nominal share which is able to outvote all other shares in certain specified circumstances, often held by a government organization, in a government company undergoing the process of privatization and transformation into a stock-company....
which allows it veto foreign control of the board or company.
On 26 September 1985, the UK and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
n governments signed the Al Yamamah
Al Yamamah
Al Yamamah is the name of a series of a record arms sales by the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia, which have been paid for by the delivery of up to of crude oil per day to the UK government. The prime contractor has been BAE Systems and its predecessor British Aerospace...
contract, with BAe as prime contractor. The contracts, extended in the 1990s and never fully detailed, involved the supply of Panavia Tornado
Panavia Tornado
The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
strike and air defence aircraft, Hawk
BAE Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, advanced jet trainer aircraft. It first flew in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk. The Hawk is used by the Royal Air Force, and other air forces, as either a trainer or a low-cost combat aircraft...
trainer jets, Rapier missile
Rapier missile
Rapier is a British surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army and Royal Air Force. Entering service in 1971, it eventually replaced all other anti-aircraft weapons in Army service; guns for low-altitude targets, and the English Electric Thunderbird, used against longer-range and...
systems, infrastructure works and naval vessels. The Al Yamamah deals are valued at anything up to £20 billion and still continue to provide a large percentage of BAE Systems' profits. With Alenia Aeronautica
Alenia Aeronautica
Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica subsidiary, is a European aerospace company from Italy. Its subsidiaries include Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali...
, CASA
CASA
- Aviation :* Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation of Civil Aviation* Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA- Spanish aircraft manufacturer, became EADS CASA in 1999...
and DASA
DASA
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG, or DASA, was the former aerospace subsidiary of Daimler-Benz AG from 1989...
, BAe formed Eurofighter GmbH
Eurofighter GmbH
Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH is a multinational company that co-ordinates the design, production and upgrade of the Eurofighter Typhoon, this includes incorporating the jet engines designed and manufactured by EuroJet Turbo GmbH.Founded in 1986, it has its head office in Hallbergmoos, Bavaria,...
in 1986 for the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon. On 22 April 1987 BAe acquired Royal Ordnance
Royal Ordnance
Royal Ordnance plc was formed on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation, owning the majority of what until then were the remaining United Kingdom government-owned Royal Ordnance Factories which manufactured explosives, ammunition, small arms including the Lee-Enfield rifle, guns and military...
, the British armaments manufacturer, for £190 million. Heckler & Koch GmbH
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms. Some of their products include the SA80, MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle, the G36 assault rifle, the HK 416, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision...
was folded into this division when BAe acquired it in 1991. In 1988 BAe purchased the Rover Group
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
which was being privatised by the British government.
In 1991 BAe acquired a 30% interest acquired in Hutchison Telecommunications and formed a naval systems joint venture, BAeSEMA
BAeSEMA
BAeSEMA was a naval technology joint venture between British Aerospace and the French Sema Group. The company was formed in 1991 and dissolved in November 1998 when BAe purchased SEMA's 50% share....
, with the Sema Group
Sema Group
Sema Group plc was an Anglo-French IT services company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Schlumberger in 2001.-History:...
. BAe acquired Sema's 50% share in 1998. 1991 also saw BAe begin to experience major difficulties. BAe saw its share price fall below 100p for the first time. On 9 September 1991, the company issued a profits warning and later that week "bungled" the launch of a £432 million rights issue
Rights issue
A rights issue is an issue of additional shares by a company to raise capital under a seasoned equity offering. The rights issue is a special form of shelf offering or shelf registration. With the issued rights, existing shareholders have the privilege to buy a specified number of new shares from...
. On 25 September 1991 BAe directors led by CEO Richard Evans
Richard Evans (businessman)
Sir Richard Harry Evans, CBE, Hon FRAeS less formally known as Dick Evans, was formerly chairman of BAE Systems.In 2001 he became Chancellor of the University of Central Lancashire...
ousted the Chairman Professor Sir Roland Smith
Roland Smith
Roland Smith is an American author of young adult fiction as well as nonfiction books for children.-Early life and education:...
in a move described by The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
as "one of the most spectacular and brutal boardroom coups witnessed in many years." Evans described the troubles as a confluence of events:
"our property company [Arlington Securities] was hit with a lousy market. Sales of the Rover GroupRover GroupThe Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
sank by about a fifth and losses mounted. The government's defence spending volumes underwent a major review. Losses in our commercial aerospace division increased dramatically with the recession in the airline industry."
In 1992 BAe formed Avro RJ Regional Jets to produce the Avro RJ series, an evolution of the BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
. In mid-1992 BAe wrote off £1 billion of assets, largely as part of redundancies and restructuring of its regional aircraft division. This was largest asset write-off in UK corporate history. It is interesting to note that The General Electric Company (GEC), later to sell its defence interests to BAe, came close to acquiring BAe at this time. BAe cut 47% of its workforce (60,000 out of 127,000), 40,000 of which were from the regional aircraft division.
Evans decided to sell non-core businesses (these "non-core" activities included The Rover Group, Arlington Securities, BAe Corporate Jets, BAe Communications and Ballast Nedam). Although the rationale of diversification was sound (to shield the company from cyclical aerospace and defence markets) the struggling company could not afford to continue the position: "We simply could not afford to carry two core businesses, cars and aerospace. At one point Rover was eating up about £2 billion of our banking capacity." BAe Corporate Jets Ltd and Arkansas Aerospace Inc were sold to Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
in 1993. In 1994 the Rover Group was sold to BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
and British Aerospace Space Systems
British Aerospace Space Systems
British Aerospace Space Systems Ltd was a subsidiary of British Aerospace.In 1994, it was sold to Matra Marconi Space, which also acquired Ferranti Satcomms at the same time. British Aerospace regained an interest in the company when it merged with GEC's Marconi Electronic Systems to form BAE Systems...
was sold to Matra Marconi Space
Matra Marconi Space
Matra Marconi Space was a Franco-British aerospace company.-History:Matra Marconi Space was established in 1990 as a joint venture between the space and telecommunication divisions of the Lagardère Group and the GEC group .The merged company was announced in December 1989 and was owned 51% by...
. In 1998 BAe's shareholding of Orange plc was reduced to 5%. The Orange shareholding was a legacy of the 30% stake in Hutchison Telecommunications (UK) Ltd when Hutchison exchanged its own shares for a mobile phone company (Microtel Communications Ltd) from BAe.
BAeSEMA, Siemens Plessey
Siemens Plessey
Siemens Plessey was the name given to the Plessey businesses acquired by Siemens in 1989. Plessey, a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company, was at the time the second largest defence electronics contractor to the Ministry of Defence and the largest supplier...
and GEC-Marconi formed UKAMS Ltd in 1994 as part of the Principal Anti-Air Missile System
PAAMS
The Principal Anti Air Missile System is a joint French/Italian/British programme for a naval anti-aircraft weapon. The prime contractor is EUROPAAMS, a joint venture between Eurosam and MBDA subsidiary UKAMS . MBDA also owns 66% of Eurosam, in effect giving it a 77% share of the project...
(PAAMS) consortium. UKAMS would become a wholly owned subsidiary of BAe Dynamics in 1998. In 1995 Saab Military Aircraft
Saab
Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
and BAe signed an agreement for the joint development and marketing of the export version of the JAS 39 Gripen
JAS 39 Gripen
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a lightweight single-engine multirole fighter manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. It was designed to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen in the Swedish Air Force...
. In 1996 BAe and Matra Defense agreed to merge their missile businesses into a joint venture called Matra BAe Dynamics
Matra BAe Dynamics
Matra BAe Dynamics was formed in August 1996 by merger of half the missile business of Matra Defense of France and BAe Dynamics of the UK and was Europe's largest manufacturer of missiles and UAVs....
. In 1997 BAe joined the Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area....
X-35 Joint Strike Fighter
F-35 Lightning II
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth generation multirole fighters under development to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capability...
team. The company acquired the UK operations of Siemens Plessey Systems
Siemens Plessey
Siemens Plessey was the name given to the Plessey businesses acquired by Siemens in 1989. Plessey, a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company, was at the time the second largest defence electronics contractor to the Ministry of Defence and the largest supplier...
(SPS) in 1998 from Siemens AG
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
. DASA purchased SPS' German assets.
Transition to BAE Systems
Defence consolidation became a major issue in 1998, with numerous reports linking various European defence groups — mainly with each other but also with American defence contractors. It was widely anticipated that BAe would merge with Germany’s DASADASA
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG, or DASA, was the former aerospace subsidiary of Daimler-Benz AG from 1989...
to form a pan-European aerospace giant. A merger deal was negotiated between Richard Evans and DASA CEO Jürgen Schrempp
Jürgen E. Schrempp
Jürgen Erich Schrempp was until December 31, 2005, the CEO of DaimlerChrysler, a German-American car and truck manufacturer. Following a decision of the board taken on July 28, 2005, he was succeeded on January 1, 2006, by Chrysler frontman Dieter Zetsche...
. However when it became clear that GEC was selling its defence electronics business Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems , or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of The General Electric Company . It was demerged from GEC and acquired by British Aerospace on November 30, 1999 to form BAE Systems...
, Evans put the DASA merger on hold in favour of purchasing Marconi. Evans stated that in 2004 that his fear was that an American defence contractor would acquire Marconi and challenge both BAe and DASA. Schrempp was angered by Evans' actions and chose instead to merge DASA with Aerospatiale to create the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). This group was joined by Spain’s CASA following an agreement in December 1999.
The GEC merger to create a UK company compared to what would have been an Anglo-German firm, made the possibility of further penetration of the United States (US) defence market more likely. The company, initially called "New British Aerospace", was officially formed on 30 November 1999 and known as BAE Systems.
Products
BAe was the UK's largest exporter, a Competition CommissionCompetition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
report gives a ten-year aggregate figure of £45 billion, with defence sales accounting for approximately 80%.
Aircraft
- Airbus A300Airbus A300The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS...
- Airbus A310Airbus A310The Airbus A310 is a medium- to long-range twin-engine widebody jet airliner. Launched in July 1978, it was the second aircraft created by Airbus Industrie,a consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. the consortium of...
- Airbus A320 familyAirbus A320 familyThe Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
- Airbus A330Airbus A330The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....
- Airbus A340Airbus A340The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...
- Airbus BelugaAirbus Beluga-External links:*...
- Avion de Transport Supersonique FuturAvion de Transport Supersonique FuturThe Avion de Transport Supersonique Futur also known as Alliance was a concept design for supersonic aircraft considered by British Aerospace and Aérospatiale. The plane was to be based on the experience learned from the supersonic Concorde, and was to fly at Mach 2 or higher...
- BAe 125
- BAe 146BAe 146The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
- BAe ATP
- British Aerospace EAPBritish Aerospace EAP-External links:*...
- BAE Harrier II
- BAe HawkBAE HawkThe BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, advanced jet trainer aircraft. It first flew in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk. The Hawk is used by the Royal Air Force, and other air forces, as either a trainer or a low-cost combat aircraft...
- BAe Hawker 800
- BAe Jetstream 41
- BAe Sea HarrierBAE Sea HarrierThe British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval VTOL/STOVL jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft, a development of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar"...
- BAe / Aerospatiale ConcordeConcordeAérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
- BAe / Avro 748Avro 748The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed by the British firm Avro in the late 1950s as a replacement for the now-aged DC-3s then in widespread service as feederliners. Avro concentrated on performance, notably for STOL operations, and found a dedicated...
- BAe / Avro VulcanAvro VulcanThe Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
- BAe / BAC Strikemaster
- BAe / Blackburn BuccaneerBlackburn BuccaneerThe Blackburn Buccaneer was a British low-level subsonic strike aircraft with nuclear weapon delivery capability serving with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force between 1962 and 1994, including service in the 1991 Gulf War...
- BAe / English Electric CanberraEnglish Electric CanberraThe English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
- BAe / English Electric LightningEnglish Electric LightningThe English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
- BAe / Handley Page Jetstream
- BAe / Handley Page VictorHandley Page VictorThe Handley Page Victor was a British jet bomber aircraft produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company during the Cold War. It was the third and final of the V-bombers that provided Britain's nuclear deterrent. The other two V-bombers were the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. Some aircraft...
- BAe / Hawker HunterHawker HunterThe Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
- BAe / Hawker Siddeley Harrier
- Harrier Jump JetHarrier Jump JetThe Harrier, informally referred to as the Jump Jet, is a family of British-designed military jet aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations...
- Harrier Jump Jet
- BAe / Hawker Siddeley Nimrod
- BAe / Hawker Siddeley TridentHawker Siddeley TridentThe Hawker Siddeley HS 121 Trident was a British short/medium-range three-engined jet airliner designed by de Havilland and built by Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s and 1970s...
- BAe / Hunting Jet Provost
- McDonnell Douglas / BAe AV-8B Harrier IIAV-8B Harrier IIThe McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II is a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing ground-attack aircraft. An Anglo-American development of the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the Harrier II is the final member of the Harrier family that started with the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 in...
- McDonnell Douglas / BAe T-45 GoshawkT-45 Goshawk|-Avionics:Data from naval-technology.com *Smiths Industries, Ltd. AN/USN-2 Standard Attitude Heading and Reference System . Later replaced by the BAE/Marconi AN/ASN-180 Navigation Guidance System ....
- BAe / Saab JAS 39 GripenJAS 39 GripenThe Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a lightweight single-engine multirole fighter manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. It was designed to replace the Saab 35 Draken and 37 Viggen in the Swedish Air Force...
- BAe / Scottish Aviation BulldogScottish Aviation Bulldog|-See also:-External links:...
- BAe / Vickers VC10Vickers VC10The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...
- Eurofighter TyphoonEurofighter TyphoonThe Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
- Panavia TornadoPanavia TornadoThe Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, which was jointly developed and manufactured by the United Kingdom, West Germany and Italy...
- Panavia Tornado ADVPanavia Tornado ADVThe Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant is a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service in 1986. It was retired on 22 March 2011 by the Royal Air Forceand is now only in service with the...
- Sepecat JaguarSEPECAT JaguarThe SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force...
Missiles
- BAC/BAe Rapier missileRapier missileRapier is a British surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army and Royal Air Force. Entering service in 1971, it eventually replaced all other anti-aircraft weapons in Army service; guns for low-altitude targets, and the English Electric Thunderbird, used against longer-range and...
- Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Sea Dart missileSea Dart missileSea Dart or Guided Weapon System 30 is a British surface-to-air missile system designed by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and built by British Aerospace from 1977...
- BAe Sea EagleSea Eagle (missile)The BAe Sea Eagle is a medium weight sea-skimming anti-ship missile designed and built by BAe Dynamics . It is designed to sink or disable ships up to the size of aircraft carriers in the face of jamming and other countermeasures including decoys...
- BAe Sea SkuaSea SkuaThe Sea Skua is a British lightweight short-range air-to-surface missile designed for use from helicopters against ships. It is primarily used by the Royal Navy on the Westland Lynx helicopter, although Kuwait uses it in a shore battery and on their Umm Al Maradem fast attack craft.The British...
- BAe Sea Wolf missileSea Wolf missileSea Wolf is a naval guided missile system designed and built by BAC, later to become British Aerospace Dynamics . It is an automated point-defence weapon system designed as a final line of defence against both sea-skimming and high angle anti-ship missiles and aircraft...
- BAe SkyflashSkyflashThe British Aerospace Skyflash was a medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by Royal Air Force F-4 Phantoms and Tornado F3s, Italian Aeronautica Militare and Royal Saudi Air Force Tornados and Swedish Flygvapnet Viggens...
- Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS)
- Royal Aircraft EstablishmentRoyal Aircraft EstablishmentThe Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
Skylark sounding rocketSkylark (rocket)Skylark was a British sounding rocket design. The Skylark was first launched in 1957 from Woomera, Australia and its 441st and final launch took place from Esrange, Sweden on 2 May 2005... - S225XRS225XRS225XR was a wingless, integrated rocket/ramjet powered, active radar guided medium range air-to-air missile concept initially proposed by a BAe Dynamics led team to meet the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence's, requirement for a missile to arm Eurofighter...
Criticisms
There have been numerous allegations that the Al Yamamah contracts were a result of bribesBribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
("douceurs") to members of the Saudi royal family
House of Saud
The House of Saud , also called the Al Saud, is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia and one of the wealthiest and most powerful dynasties in the world. The family holds thousands of members...
and government officials. Some allegations suggested that the former Prime Minister's son Mark Thatcher
Mark Thatcher
Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet is the son of Sir Denis Thatcher and Baroness Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister, and twin brother of Carol Thatcher...
may have been involved, however he has strongly denied receiving payments or exploiting his mother's connections in his business dealings. The UK National Audit Office investigated the contracts and has so far never released its conclusions - the only NAO report ever to be withheld. The BBC's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
observed that it is ironic that the once classified report analysing the construction of MI5's
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
Thames House
Thames House
Thames House is an office development in Millbank, London, on the north bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge, designed originally as commercial head offices...
and MI6's Vauxhall Cross
SIS Building
The SIS Building, also commonly known as the MI6 Building, is the headquarters of the British Secret Intelligence Service . It is known within the intelligence community as Legoland and also as "Babylon-on-Thames" due to its resemblance to an ancient Babylonian ziggurat...
headquarters has been released, but the Al Yamamah report is still deemed too sensitive.
The 2007 documentary film Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines
Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines
Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines is a 2007 British investigative documentary film directed and produced by former airline captain Tristan Loraine on the subject of so-called aerotoxic syndrome.-Plot:...
contained evidence that vital data was withheld from a 1999-2000 Australian Senate Inqury into the health and flight safety issues relating to oil fumes on the BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
. The film also contains an Australian Senator speech about money being paid for silence by BAe on the fumes issues relating to the BAe 146
BAe 146
The British Aerospace 146 is a medium-sized commercial airliner formerly manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2002. Manufacture of an improved version known as the Avro RJ began in 1992...
.
See also
- Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
- Hawker Siddeley Company
- Rover GroupRover GroupThe Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
External links
- British Aerospace (Archive)