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.
BAESEMA acquired Dowty-Sema in 1992, another naval system joint venture between Dowty Group and Sema.
From BAe's perspective BAESEMA was an attempt to increase its capabilities as a naval prime contractor. This was not entirely successful for two reasons:
BAESEMA's major competitor in the UK naval systems market was GEC-Marconi through its Ferranti Naval Systems and Plessey Naval Systems businesses.
On November 11, 1998, BAe acquired Sema's interest in the company for £77 million and merged it into British Aerospace Defence Ltd. BAe's naval capabilities increased dramatically in the next year, its acquisition of Marconi Electronic Systems to form BAE Systems saw it take control of Marconi Marine's shipyards; VSEL (Barrow-in-Furness), Govan (Glasgow) and YSL (Scotstoun).
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 1867, acquired more businesses, and began branching out into military hardware and shipbuilding.
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. It purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company, in 1999 to form BAE Systems.
Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of General Electric Company (GEC). It was split off from GEC and bought by British Aerospace (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form BAE Systems. GEC then renamed itself Marconi plc.
The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering.
Matra Marconi Space (MMS) was a Franco-British aerospace company.
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational aerospace, defence and information security company, based in London, England. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe and the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. Its largest operations are in the United Kingdom and in the United States, where its BAE Systems Inc. subsidiary is one of the six largest suppliers to the US Department of Defense. Its next biggest markets are Saudi Arabia, then Australia; other major markets include Canada, Japan, India, Turkey, Qatar, Oman and Sweden. The company was formed on 30 November 1999 by the £7.7 billion purchase of and merger of Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc (GEC), with British Aerospace, an aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer.
Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS) was a major European integrated defence electronics company and an equal shares joint venture between BAE Systems and Finmeccanica until its dissolution on 3 May 2005.
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 which was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming one of the UK's most successful manufacturing companies.
British Shipbuilders (BS) was a public corporation that owned and managed the shipbuilding industry in Great Britain from 1977 through the 1980s. Its head office was at Benton House in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also operated the nearby Govan shipyard since 1999.
Siemens Plessey was the name given to the Plessey assets acquired by Siemens in 1989. Today most of these units are part of BAE Systems while some units are now part of EADS.
BAE Systems Inc. is an American subsidiary of British multinational defense, security, and aerospace company BAE Systems plc. The American subsidiary operates under a Special Security Agreement which allows it to work on some of the most sensitive United States defense programs despite its foreign ownership. It is incorporated in Delaware. It employs approximately 35,000 workers within U.S. borders and several thousand more in Israel, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Major business lines of BAE Systems Inc. include electronic warfare, sensing and communications equipment; armored vehicles, artillery systems; naval guns and naval ship repair; and cybersecurity and intelligence services.
Tracor, Inc. was a major North American defense electronics contractor which was acquired by Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), a subsidiary of General Electric Company plc, in 1998. Following the purchase of MES by British Aerospace in November 1999 to form BAE Systems, Tracor became BAE Systems Integrated Defense Solutions. Following a 2005 reorganisation, the company became BAE Systems Sensor Integration, part of Electronics and Integrated Solutions.
Thales Underwater Systems or TUS is a subsidiary of the French defense electronics specialist Thales Group. It was founded in 2001 and belongs to its naval division. It specializes in the development and manufacturing of sonar systems for submarines, surface warships and aircraft, as well as communications masts and systems for submarines. Its headquarters are located in Sophia Antipolis, France.
BAE Systems Marine Limited was the shipbuilding subsidiary of BAE Systems, formed in 1999, which manufactured the full range of naval ships; nuclear submarines, frigates, destroyers, amphibious ships.
BAE Systems Platforms & Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems Inc. and is a large provider of tracked and wheeled armored combat vehicles, naval guns, naval ship repair and modernization, artillery and missile launching systems, advanced precision strike munitions and ordnance, and other technologies for U.S. and international customers.
SELEX Sistemi Integrati S.p.A. was an aerospace, defence and security-related electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Rome, Italy, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica. It designed and developed systems for homeland security; systems and radar sensors for air defence, battlefield management, naval warfare, coastal and maritime surveillance; air traffic control; and turn-key airport solutions. The company had around 4,500 employees. On 1 January 2013, it merged with its sister companies SELEX Galileo and SELEX Elsag to form Selex ES.
CAP Scientific Ltd was a British defence software company, and was part of CAP Group plc. In 1988, CAP Group merged with the French firm Sema-Metra SA in 1988 as Sema Group plc. In 1991 Sema Group put most of its defence operations into joint venture with British Aerospace called BAeSEMA, which British Aerospace bought out in 1998. Parts of the former CAP Scientific are now BAE Systems (Insyte).
SMCS, the Submarine Command System, was first created for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom's Vanguard-class submarines as a tactical information system and a torpedo weapon control system. Versions have now also been installed on all active Royal Navy submarine classes.
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. It was acquired by Schlumberger in 2001.