British Aerospace

Last updated

British Aerospace plc
Company type
Industry Aerospace
Predecessor
Founded29 April 1977;47 years ago (1977-04-29)
Defunct30 November 1999;24 years ago (1999-11-30)
FateMerged with Marconi Electronic Systems
Successor BAE Systems
Headquarters
Farnborough, Hampshire
,
United Kingdom
Products Aircraft
Subsidiaries
Website bae.co.uk (archived)

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. [1] It purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company, in 1999 to form BAE Systems.

Contents

History

Formation and privatisation

The company has its origins in the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977, which called for the nationalisation and merger of the British Aircraft Corporation, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and Scottish Aviation. On 29 April 1977, the new entity was formed in the United Kingdom as a statutory corporation.

British Aerospace Act 1980
Act of Parliament
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act to provide for the vesting of all the property, rights, liabilities and obligations of British Aerospace in a company nominated by the Secretary of State and the subsequent dissolution of British Aerospace; and to make provision with respect to the finances of that company.
Citation 1980 c. 26
Territorial extent 
  • England and Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent 1 May 1980
Commencement 1 May 1980
Other legislation
Relates to
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the British Aerospace Act 1980 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Under the provisions of the British Aerospace Act 1980 (c. 26), on 1 January the statutory corporation was transferred to a limited company, which then re-registered as a public limited company (plc), under the name "British Aerospace Public Limited Company", on 2 January 1981. [2] BAe was privatised in two main phases, the first in February 1981, involving 51.6% shares of the company, during which the public sale was 3.5 times subscribed and at the end of the first day's trading, share prices were 14% above the original offer price. [3] The second phase occurred in May 1985, in which 48.4% shares were sold; this sale was 5.4 times subscribed and the first day closing price was 11% above the initial offer price. [3] The British Government maintained a £1 golden share, which allowed it to veto foreign control of the board or company. [4]

Programmes

A German Air Force Tornado IDS in flight, 2007 German Panavia Tornado.JPG
A German Air Force Tornado IDS in flight, 2007

British Aerospace inherited a number of live development programmes from its predecessors. Scottish Aviation was working on a project for a 19-seat turboprop airliner, an upgraded version of the Handley Page Jetstream. BAe placed the Jetstream 31 into production after the first flight of the prototype in March 1980. At the same time, production of Hawker Siddeley's HS 125 business jet, Harrier VTOL jet fighter and HS 748 turboprop airliner continued under BAe, as did that of the Trident jet airliner for a short time. Similarly, low-rate production of the BAC One-Eleven jet airliner, the Strikemaster two-seat military jet trainer/attack aircraft, and the iconic Concorde supersonic airliner also continued.

On 29 July 1976, less than a year prior to BAe's formation, the contract for production of the first batch of the Panavia Tornado, an advanced nuclear-capable fighter bomber, was signed. [5] It was developed and produced via a multinational company, Panavia Aircraft GmbH, of which BAe was one of several companies to be heavily involved. [6] [7] On 10 July 1979, the maiden flight of a production Tornado occurred. [8] On 5 and 6 June 1979, the first aircraft were delivered to the RAF and German Air Force respectively. [9] On 25 September 1981, the first Italian Tornado was delivered. [10]

The Tornado would be produced in large numbers, the 500th aircraft to be completed was delivered to West Germany on 19 December 1987. [11] Production of the Tornado ended in 1998, the final batch being delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force, that had ordered a total of 96 IDS Tornados. [12] Aviation author Jon Lake noted that "The Trinational Panavia Consortium produced just short of 1,000 Tornados, making it one of the most successful postwar bomber programs". [13]

In 1978, BAe relaunched the BAe 146, a short-haul regional airliner that had been previously worked on by Hawker Siddeley. The company marketed it as a quiet and economic turbofan-powered compact airliner that could replace the previous generation of turboprop-powered feeder aircraft. [14] In 1982, the first completed aircraft made its first flight. [15] [16] Upon its launch into service the following year, it was hailed as being "the world's quietest jetliner". [17] In 1993, an upgraded model of the BAe 146, referred to as the Avro RJ series, superseded the original; changes included the replacement of the original Lycoming ALF 502 turbofan engines by higher-thrust LF 507 turbofan engines, which were housed in redesigned nacelles. The Avro RJ series also featured a modernised cockpit with EFIS replacing the analogue ADI, HSI, and engine instrumentation. [18] Production of the Avro RJ ended with the final four aircraft being delivered in late 2003; a total of 173 Avro RJ aircraft was delivered between 1993 and 2003. [19]

A 800 NAS Sea Harrier FRS1 from HMS Illustrious in post-Falklands War low-visibility paint scheme. DN-SC-87-05770.JPEG
A 800 NAS Sea Harrier FRS1 from HMS Illustrious in post-Falklands War low-visibility paint scheme.

BAe developed several advanced models of the Harrier family. In 1978, the Royal Navy received the first BAe Sea Harrier of an initial order for 24. [20] [21] The Sea Harrier was declared operational three years later, being initially embarked on both the first Invincible class aircraft carrier HMS Invincible, and the older HMS Hermes. [22] Following their decisive role in the 1982 Falklands War, [23] several of the lessons learnt from the conflict shaped a new upgrade programme for the fleet authorised in 1984, resulting in the Sea Harrier FRS.2 (later known as FA2). The first flight of the prototype took place in September 1988 and a contract was signed for 29 upgraded aircraft in December of that year. [24] The Sea Harrier FA2 was fitted with the Blue Vixen radar, which was described as one of the most advanced pulse doppler radar systems in the world. [25]

In August 1981, BAe and the American aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. [26] Under this agreement, BAe was effectively a subcontractor rather than a full partner, receiving 40 per cent of the airframe's work-share in terms of man-hours. [26] Production took place at McDonnell Douglas' facilities in suburban St Louis, Missouri, and manufacturing by BAe at its Kingston and Dunsfold facilities in Surrey, England. [27] The variant procured for the RAF, which was known as the BAe Harrier II, featured many differences, including avionics fit, armaments and equipment; the wing of the GR5 featured a stainless steel leading edge, giving it different flex characteristics from the AV-8B. [28] In December 1989, the first RAF squadron to be equipped with the Harrier II was declared operational. [29]

In 1979, BAe officially joined the multinational aircraft manufacturer Airbus and acquired a 20% share in the venture, [30] [31] the move effectively reversed a decision made ten years prior in which the UK government had withdrawn its support for the Airbus consortium. Airbus' first aircraft, the A300, had been received with little initial demand, [32] but orders for the airliner had picked up in the late 1970s. [33] [34] By 1979, the consortium had 256 orders for A300, [35] and Airbus had launched its second airliner, the A310, less than 12 months prior to BAe formally joining the consortium. [31] As time went on, it was becoming clear that Airbus was no longer a temporary collaboration to produce a single design as per its original mission statement; it had become a long-term brand for the development of further aircraft. By the late 1980s, work had begun on a pair of new wide-body airliners, the biggest to be produced at this point under the Airbus name; these would be launched in the 1990s as the Airbus A330 and the Airbus A340. [36] [37]

A British Aerospace EAP at the Farnborough Air Show, 1986 British Aerospace EAP at the Farnborough Air Show, 1986.jpg
A British Aerospace EAP at the Farnborough Air Show, 1986

During the 1983 Paris Air Show, the launch of the Experimental Aircraft Programme (EAP) to develop and fly an advanced fighter technology demonstrator was announced; at this point, the effort was intended to be a partnership between Britain and several of its European neighbours, including West Germany and Italy. [38] [39] The resulting aircraft, the British Aerospace EAP, ended up being primarily developed by BAe as a private venture; it formed the basis for the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon. In 1986, in conjunction Alenia Aeronautica, CASA and DASA, BAe formed Eurofighter GmbH for the development and production of the Eurofighter. [40] The multinational organisation's head office was established in Hallbergmoos, Bavaria, Germany. [41] The maiden flight of the Eurofighter prototype took place in Bavaria on 27 March 1994, flown by DASA chief test pilot Peter Weger. [42] On 30 January 1998, the first production contract for the Eurofighter was signed between Eurofighter GmbH, engine manufacturer Eurojet and the NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, the organisation set up to manage the procurement of the aircraft. [43]

On 26 September 1985, the UK and Saudi Arabian governments signed the Al-Yamamah arms deal 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, BAe Hawk trainer jets, Rapier missile systems, infrastructure works and naval vessels. [44] The Al Yamamah deals are valued at anything up to £20 billion and still continue to provide a large percentage of BAE Systems' profits. [45] [46]

Acquisitions and restructuring

BAe acquired Royal Ordnance, the British armaments manufacturer, for £190 million on 22 April 1987. The German armaments specialist Heckler & Koch was folded into this division after BAe acquired it four years later.

In 1988, BAe purchased the Rover Group from the British government of Margaret Thatcher for £150 million. The sale was controversial due to opaque financial arrangements between the government and BAe; however the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee was said to believe that "in spite of a catalogue of complaints, the committee concludes that the sale to BAe may well have been the best solution for the government." [47]

In 1991, BAe acquired a 30% interest in Hutchison Telecommunications through a stock swap deal, where Hutchison was given a controlling stake of 65% in BAe's wholly owned subsidiary Microtel Communications Ltd. [48] [49] [50] In August 1991, BAe formed a naval systems joint venture, BAeSEMA, with the Sema Group. [48] BAe acquired Sema's 50% share in 1998. That year 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. [51] 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." [52] Evans described the troubles as a confluence of events: [53]

"our property company [Arlington Securities] was hit with a lousy market. Sales of the Rover Group 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 mid-1992, BAe wrote off £1 billion of assets, largely as part of redundancies and restructuring of its regional aircraft division. [54] This was the largest asset write-off in UK corporate history. General Electric Company (GEC), later to sell its defence interests to BAe, came close to acquiring BAe at this time. [54] 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 business activities, which 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." [55] BAe Corporate Jets and Arkansas Aerospace 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%. [49] The Orange shareholding was a legacy of the 30% stake in Hutchison Telecommunications (UK) Ltd.

In 1994, BAeSEMA, Siemens Plessey and GEC-Marconi formed UKAMS Limited 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. [56] In 1997, BAe joined the Lockheed Martin X-35 Joint Strike Fighter team. [57] The following year, BAe acquired the UK operations of Siemens Plessey Systems (SPS) from Siemens, while DASA purchased SPS' German assets. [58] [59]

In the 1990s, BAe was the largest exporter based in the United Kingdom; a Competition Commission report released in 2005 calculated a ten-year aggregate figure of £45 billion, with defence sales accounting for approximately 80%. [60]

Transition to BAE Systems

In the late 1990s, European defence consolidation became a prevailing practice; European governments wished to see the merger of their defence manufacturers into a single entity, a European Aerospace and Defence Company. [61] This ambition led to numerous reports linking various European defence groups – mainly with each other but also with American defence contractors. In July 1998, merger discussions began between BAe and DASA. [62] Terms for such a merger had been reportedly agreed between British Aerospace Chairman Richard Evans and DASA CEO Jürgen Schrempp in December 1998. [63] [64] However, when the British General Electric Company (GEC) put its defence electronics business Marconi Electronic Systems (MES) up for sale on 22 December 1998, BAe's management opted to abandon the DASA merger in favour of purchasing its British rival. [65] [66] During 2004, Evans stated that his fear was that an American defence contractor would acquire MES and challenge both British Aerospace and DASA. [63]

Schrempp was angered by BAe's reversal, and opted to pursue other partner companies for DASA to merge with. On 11 June 1999, the Spanish aircraft company CASA a memorandum of understanding for such a merger. [67] On 14 October 1999, DASA agreed to merge with Aérospatiale-Matra to create the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). [68] 10 July 2000 was "day one" for the new company, which became the world's second-largest aerospace company after Boeing and the second-largest European arms manufacturer after BAE Systems. [69]

The GEC merger to create a solely British company, compared to the prospective Anglo-German company that would have resulted from merging with DASA, was promoted as having superior prospects for further penetration of the lucrative defence market of the United States. The newly combined company, which was initially referred to as "New British Aerospace", was officially formed on 30 November 1999; it is named BAE Systems. [70]

Products

Aircraft

A BAe 146-300 operated by Buzz Buzz BAe 146-300 Jonsson.jpg
A BAe 146–300 operated by Buzz
Harrier GR5 British Aerospace Harrier GR5, UK - Air Force AN0964385.jpg
Harrier GR5
BAe Nimrod MRA4 Nimrod MRA4 1.jpg
BAe Nimrod MRA4
Sea Harrier FA2 hovering A Sea Harrier FA2 of 801 Squadron is seen hovering above the deck of HMS Illustrious. MOD 45146088.jpg
Sea Harrier FA2 hovering
A BAe built Eurofighter development aircraft Eurofighter Typhoon 2.jpg
A BAe built Eurofighter development aircraft

Airliner/Commercial

Trainer

Military

Airliner wings

An example of a wing of the first Airbus model, the A300 Wing.lufthansa.arp.jpg
An example of a wing of the first Airbus model, the A300

Missiles

A vertically-launched Sea Wolf Defence Imagery - Missiles 10.jpg
A vertically-launched Sea Wolf
Skylark sounding rocket Skylark launch.jpg
Skylark sounding rocket

Unmanned air vehicles

Space hardware

An artist's depiction of HOTOL HOTOL.JPG
An artist's depiction of HOTOL

Security systems

Corruption investigation and criticisms

There have been allegations that the Al Yamamah contracts were a result of bribes ("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; he has strongly denied receiving payments or exploiting his mother's connections in his business dealings. [71] The 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.[ citation needed ]

The 2007 documentary film Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines contained evidence that vital data was withheld from a 1999–2000 Australian Senate Inquiry into the health and flight safety issues relating to oil fumes on the British Aerospace 146. The film also contains an Australian Senator's speech about money being paid by BAe for silence on the fumes issue. [72]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aérospatiale</span> French aerospace manufacturer from 1970 to 1999

Aérospatiale was a major French state-owned aerospace and defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation and SEREB. The company was headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Aircraft Corporation</span> British aircraft manufacturer

The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with shareholdings of 20%, 40% and 40% respectively. BAC in turn acquired the share capital of their aviation interests and 70% of Hunting Aircraft several months later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DASA</span> 1989–2000 German aerospace manufacturer

DASA was a German aerospace manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurofighter Typhoon</span> 1994 multi-role combat aircraft family by Eurofighter

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, manages the project and is the prime customer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panavia Tornado</span> Family of multi-role combat aircraft

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multi-role combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) fighter-bomber, the Tornado ECR SEAD aircraft and the Tornado ADV interceptor aircraft.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawker Siddeley</span> 1934–1977 aircraft manufacturer in the United Kingdom

Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of only two such major British companies in the 1960s. In 1977, Hawker Siddeley became a founding component of the nationalised British Aerospace (BAe). Hawker Siddeley also operated in other industrial markets, such as locomotive building and diesel engine manufacture. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a West German aerospace manufacturer. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged with the civil engineering and aviation firm Bölkow in 1968, while rival aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau was acquired by the company in the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Aerospace 146</span> Regional airliner family by British Aerospace, later BAE Systems

The British Aerospace 146 is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manufactured an improved version known as the Avro RJ. Production for the Avro RJ version began in 1992. Later on, a further-improved version with new engines, the Avro RJX, was announced in 1997, but only two prototypes and one production aircraft were built before production ceased in 2001. With 387 aircraft produced, the Avro RJ/BAe 146 is the most successful British civil jet airliner program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panavia Aircraft</span> German military aircraft manufacturer

Panavia Aircraft GmbH is a German company established by the three partner states of the Tornado Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) project: West Germany, Italy and the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farnborough International Airshow</span> UK airshow and arms trade exhibition

The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in 1948, Farnborough has seen the debut of many famous aeroplanes, including the Vickers VC10, Concorde, the Eurofighter, the Airbus A380, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. At the 1958 show, Hawker Hunters of the RAF's Black Arrows executed a 22-aircraft formation loop, setting a new world record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurofighter GmbH</span> Anglo-Franco-German-Italo-Spanish aerospace and defence manufacturer

Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH is a multinational company that coordinates the design, production and upgrade of the Eurofighter Typhoon military jet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Museum of Flight</span> Museum in East Fortune, Scotland

The National Museum of Flight is Scotland's national aviation museum, at East Fortune Airfield, just south of the village of East Fortune, Scotland. It is one of the museums within National Museums Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Eurofighter Typhoon</span>

This is the timeline of the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon, a multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers, Eurofighter GmbH, formed in 1983.

BAE Systems Military Air & Information is a business unit of British defence company BAE Systems responsible for the design, development, manufacture and support of fixed wing military aircraft. MAI customers include the Royal Air Force, Royal Saudi Air Force, US Navy and Indian Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the aerospace industry in the United Kingdom

The aerospace industry of the United Kingdom is the second-largest national aerospace industry in the world and the largest in Europe by turnover, with a global market share of 17% in 2019. In 2020, the industry employed 116,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Eagles</span> British former test pilot and former Fleet Air Arm pilot

Lieutenant Commander John David Eagles is a British former test pilot and former Fleet Air Arm pilot.

Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and Cassidian divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus revenues in 2016, it is the second largest space company in the world.

Today's Airbus is the product of international consolidation in the European aerospace industry tracing way before the formation of the Airbus Industrie GIE consortium in 1970. In 2000, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) NV was established through the merger of Aerospatiale-Matra of France and DASA from Germany, and that subsequently bought Construcciones Aeronauticas from Spain. In addition to other subsidiaries pertaining to security and space activities, EADS owned 100% of the pre-existing Eurocopter SA, established in 1992, as well as 80% of Airbus Industrie GIE. In 2001, Airbus Industrie GIE was reorganised as Airbus SAS, a simplified joint-stock company. In 2006, EADS acquired the remaining 20% shares of Airbus Industrie GIE from BAE Systems. EADS NV was renamed Airbus Group NV in 2014 and finally Airbus SE in 2015. Due to the commercial aircraft division's prominence within Airbus SE with it representing the largest part of the corporation's activities, Airbus S.A.S was published to be merged into the parent company in January 2017, but it was never done. Airbus SE remains therefore as the holding company for the commercial aircraft subsidiary Airbus SAS, while also being the parent company of the other two divisions Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Helicopters.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Sites." British Aerospace. Retrieved 31 August 2011. "British Aerospace plc Warwick House, Farnborough Aerospace Centre, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 6YU."
  2. ↑ Certificate of Incorporation on Re-Registration as Public Limited Company
  3. 1 2 "British Aerospace UK Heritage".
  4. ↑ "Written Answers — British Aerospace". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 17 December 1980. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2008. col. 179
  5. ↑ Long, Wellington. "Swing-Wing Wonder Weapon Is Going Into Production." Ludington Daily News,24 August 1976.
  6. ↑ Segell 1997, p. 124.
  7. ↑ Morris, Joe Alex Jr. "Messerschmitt Back in Business". St Petersburg Times . 30 April 1969.
  8. ↑ "Nations – United Kingdom". Panavia Aircraft GmbH. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  9. ↑ Middleton, Drew. "Military Analysis: West Germany Is Modernizing Military Forces." New York Times, 23 September 1979. Retrieved 23 September 1979.
  10. ↑ Parsons, Gary. "TTTEnd of an era." airsceneuk.org.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  11. ↑ Taylor 1987, p. 58.
  12. ↑ Jackson et al. 1998, p. 241.
  13. ↑ Lake 2002, pp. 446, 455.
  14. ↑ Hewish 1982, p. 857.
  15. ↑ Velupillai 1981, p. 1244.
  16. ↑ Hewish 1982, p. 858.
  17. ↑ "Coming: Smaller Jetliners." Popular Mechanics, September 1984. 161(9), p. 98.
  18. ↑ "VLM Introduces Jet Aircraft". Velocity. May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  19. ↑ "Commercial Aircraft Directory – Avro RJ-85ER." Flight Global, Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  20. ↑ Bull 2004, p. 120.
  21. ↑ Grove 1987, pp. 319–320.
  22. ↑ Ford, Terry (1981). "Sea Harrier – A New Dimension". Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology. 53 (6). Bradford, England: Emerald Group Publishing: 2–5. doi:10.1108/eb035729. ISSN   1758-4213. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012.
  23. ↑ Sloyan, Patrick J (23 May 1982). "Sea Harrier changes face of air warfare". Tri City Herald.[ dead link ]
  24. ↑ "First Flight for Sea Harrier FRS2". 10 (13). Janes Defense Weekly. 1 November 1988: 767.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)[ dead link ]
  25. ↑ Hoyle, Craig (9 May 2006). "Harrier high". FlightGlobal . Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  26. 1 2 Wilson 2000, p. 26.
  27. ↑ Gaines 1985, p. 148.
  28. ↑ "Aerospace, Volume 20." Royal Aeronautical Society, 1993, p. 14.
  29. ↑ Nordeen 2006, p. 68.
  30. ↑ Rinearson, Peter (19 June 1983). "A special report on the conception, design, manufacture, marketing and delivery of a new jetliner—the Boeing 757". The Seattle Times .
  31. 1 2 "History – Technology leaders". Airbus. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  32. ↑ "Now, the Poor Man's Jumbo Jet". Time . 17 October 1977. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008.
  33. ↑ Witkin, Richard (7 April 1978). "Eastern accepts $778 million deal to get 23 Airbuses". The New York Times .
  34. ↑ Carman, Gerry (11 December 1979). "Airbus funds flow on". The Age. Australia.[ dead link ]
  35. ↑ "The Airbus fight to stay ahead". BBC News . 23 June 2000. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  36. ↑ Frawley, Gerald. "Airbus A330-200". "Airbus A330-300". The International Directory of Civil Aircraft, 2003/2004. Aerospace Publications, 2003. ISBN   1-875671-58-7.
  37. ↑ "Airbus faces critical decision in coming months". Reuters. 26 December 2001.
  38. ↑ "BAe EAP ZF534: Museum Accession Number X005-5992." Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Retrieved: 22 June 2019.
  39. ↑ "BAe EAP." BAE Systems , Retrieved: 22 June 2019.
  40. ↑ Cowton, Rodney (7 June 1986). "Eurofighter partners: West Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain". The Times .
  41. ↑ "Impressum: Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH Am Söldnermoos 17 D-85399 Hallbergmoos Germany". Eurofighter. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  42. ↑ "1994: Maiden flight for future fighter jet." BBC News, 27 February 1994. Retrieved: 19 March 2008.
  43. ↑ BBC "Euro-fighter contracts signed." BBC News, 30 January 1998. Retrieved: 18 September 2007.
  44. ↑ Donne, Michael (12 August 1987). "BAe Hands Over First Part of Saudi Aircraft Order". Financial Times . p. 6.
  45. ↑ Fildes, Nic (19 August 2006). "BAE confirms £5bn Eurofighter sale to Saudi Arabia". The Times. London. Retrieved 19 August 2006.[ dead link ]
  46. ↑ Steiner, Rupert (10 September 2006). "BAE clinches new £2.5bn Tornado deal with Saudis". The Business . Retrieved 12 September 2006.[ permanent dead link ]
  47. ↑ Cassell, Michael (February 22, 1991). "The Rover Report; 'British Aerospace drove a hard bargain'". Financial Times.
  48. 1 2 "The Facts : 2004" (PDF). na.baesystems.com. p. 107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  49. 1 2 "BAe's record-breaking sterling Eurobond issue" (PDF). 22 June 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  50. ↑ "History of Cellular services". licensing.ofcom.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  51. ↑ Betts, Paul (26 September 1991). "Leader toppled by unstoppable momentum". Financial Times. p. 28.
  52. ↑ Harrison, Michael (26 September 1991). "Roland Smith ousted by boardroom coup at BAe". The Independent . Newspaper Publishing plc. p. 1.
  53. ↑ Evans, Richard (1999). Vertical Take-off, p. 2. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. ISBN   1-85788-245-8.
  54. 1 2 Stone, Chris (16 September 1993). "BAe soars out of the red". The Herald. Caledonian Newspapers Ltd. pp. 3, 7. Retrieved 7 December 2006.
  55. ↑ Evans, Richard (1999). Vertical Take-off, p. 6. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. ISBN   1-85788-245-8.
  56. ↑ BAe confirms Matra venture, Financial Times (London), August 17, 1996
  57. ↑ August, Oliver (June 19, 1997). "BAe in JSF link with Lockheed". The Times.
  58. ↑ Karin Backlund; Madelene Sandstrom (August 1996). The Integration of Acquired Companies Into the Defence Industry: Experiences from Western Europe. DIANE Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7881-4859-0.
  59. ↑ "'The DECCA Legacy' A view from inside the RADAR company -DECCA - BAE SYSTEMS (1949 - 2009)" . Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  60. ↑ Competition Commission (1995) British Aerospace Public Limited Company and VSEL Plc: A report on the proposed merger [usurped] p. 28.
  61. ↑ "Business: The Company File: Defense merger on the radar". BBC News. 10 July 1998. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
  62. ↑ "BAe and Dasa discuss proposals for merger: Aerospace groups still have 'important issues to resolve'". Financial Times. 24 July 1998. p. 1.
  63. 1 2 Spiegel, Peter (17 July 2004). "The largest aerospace companies gather next week for the Farnborough air show but the event will be without its long-time unofficial host". Financial Times. p. 11.
  64. ↑ Spiegel, Peter (17 July 2004). "End of an era at BAE: how Sir Richard Evans changed the UK defence industry". Financial Times.
  65. ↑ BAE Systems Annual Report 1999 22. BAE Systems plc (2000). Retrieved on 27 October 2006.
  66. ↑ Turpin, Andrew (4 March 2000). "BAE eyes US targets after profit rockets". The Scotsman. The Scotsman Publications. p. 26.
  67. ↑ White, David; Nicoll, Alexander (12 June 1999). "DaimlerChrysler wins fight for Spain's Casa: Deal boosts aerospace industry consolidation in Europe". Financial Times.
  68. ↑ Nicoll, Alexander; Skapiner, Michael (15 October 1999). "Flying in formation: The merger of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and Aérospatiale-Matra may pave the way for a larger European grouping or the first transatlantic defence tie-up, argue Alexander Nicoll and Michael Skapinker". Financial Times.
  69. ↑ "History of EADS". EADS. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  70. ↑ "BAe set to sign A8bn GEC deal with merger". The Guardian. 19 January 1999.
  71. ↑ "Submission from the Campaign Against Arms Trade to the International Development Committee's Inquiry into corruption". Campaign Against Arms Trade. September 2000. Archived from the original on 19 June 2006. Retrieved 19 August 2006.
  72. ↑ Michealis, S (2010), PHD 11 November 1900 Health And Flight Safety Implications From Exposure To Contaminated Air In Aircraft.docx - UNSWorks (Thesis), unsworks.unsw.edu.au, doi:10.26190/unsworks/23524, hdl:1959.4/50342 , retrieved 23 January 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[ permanent dead link ]

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.