British Aerospace
Company type |
|
---|---|
Industry | Aerospace |
Predecessor | |
Founded | 29 April 1977 |
Defunct | 30 November 1999 |
Fate | Merged with Marconi Electronic Systems |
Successor | BAE Systems |
Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Products | Aircraft |
Subsidiaries |
|
Website | bae.co.uk (archived) |
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British
History
Formation and privatisation
The company has its origins in the
British Aerospace Act 1980 | |
---|---|
Act of Parliament | |
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Text of statute as originally enacted | |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
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 British Aircraft Corporation's 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 developed several advanced models of the
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]
During the 1983
On 26 September 1985, the UK and Saudi Arabian governments signed the
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
"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
In 1994, BAeSEMA,
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.
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
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
- British Aerospace 125
- Avro RJseries)
- British Aerospace P.125
- British Aerospace P.1216
- British Aerospace ATP
- British Aerospace EAP
- British Aerospace Harrier II
- British Aerospace Hawk
- BAe Hawker 800
- British Aerospace Jetstream
- British Aerospace Jetstream 41
- British Aerospace Nimrod AEW.3
- BAE Nimrod MRA.4
- BAE Replica
- British Aerospace Sea Harrier
- BAe / Aerospatiale Concorde
- BAe Avro 748
- BAe Avro vulcan
- BAC/BAe Strikemaster
- BAe Buccaneer
- BAe Canberra
- BAe Lightning
- BAe Jetstream
- BAe Victor
- Hawker / BAe Hunter
- Hawker / BAe Harrier
- Hawker / BAe Nimrod
- BAe / Hawker Trident
- BAe Provost
- McDonnell Douglas / BAe Harrier II
- BAe / McDonnell Douglas Goshawk
- BAe / Saab Gripen
- BAe Bulldog
- BAe Vickers VC10
- Eurofighter Typhoon
- Panavia Tornado
- Panavia Tornado ADV
- SEPECAT Jaguar
Airliner wings
- Airbus A300
- Airbus A310
- Airbus A320 family
- Airbus A330
- Airbus A340
- Airbus Beluga
- Avion de Transport Supersonique Futur – project
Missiles
Unmanned air vehicles
- BAe Flybac
- BAE Systems Phoenix
- BAE SkyEye
- BAe Stabileye
Space hardware
- Giotto probe
- HOTOL
- Olympus-1
- Orbital Test Satellite
- Skynet (satellites)
Security systems
- CONDOR CONtraband DetectOR
- Vehicle Cargo X-Ray 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
- Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
- Hawker Siddeley Company
- Rover Group
References
Citations
- ^ "Sites." British Aerospace. Retrieved 31 August 2011. "British Aerospace plc Warwick House, Farnborough Aerospace Centre, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 6YU."
- ^ Certificate of Incorporation on Re-Registration as Public Limited Company
- ^ a b "British Aerospace UK Heritage".
- ^ "Written Answers — British Aerospace". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 17 December 1980. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2008.
col. 179
- ^ Long, Wellington. "Swing-Wing Wonder Weapon Is Going Into Production." Ludington Daily News,24 August 1976.
- ^ Segell 1997, p. 124.
- ^ Morris, Joe Alex Jr. "Messerschmitt Back in Business". St. Petersburg Times. 30 April 1969.
- ^ "Nations – United Kingdom". Panavia Aircraft GmbH. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ Middleton, Drew. "Military Analysis: West Germany Is Modernizing Military Forces." The New York Times, 23 September 1979. Retrieved 23 September 1979.
- ^ Parsons, Gary. "TTTEnd of an era." airsceneuk.org.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ Taylor 1987, p. 58.
- ^ Jackson et al. 1998, p. 241.
- ^ Lake 2002, pp. 446, 455.
- ^ Hewish 1982, p. 857.
- ^ Velupillai 1981, p. 1244.
- ^ Hewish 1982, p. 858.
- ^ "Coming: Smaller Jetliners." Popular Mechanics, September 1984. 161(9), p. 98.
- ^ "VLM Introduces Jet Aircraft". Velocity. May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
- ^ "Commercial Aircraft Directory – Avro RJ-85ER." Flight Global, Retrieved 14 November 2012.
- ^ Bull 2004, p. 120.
- ^ Grove 1987, pp. 319–320.
- from the original on 5 April 2012.
- ^ Sloyan, Patrick J (23 May 1982). "Sea Harrier changes face of air warfare". Tri City Herald.[dead link]
- ^ "First Flight for Sea Harrier FRS2". 10 (13). Janes Defense Weekly. 1 November 1988: 767.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help)[dead link] - ^ Hoyle, Craig (9 May 2006). "Harrier high". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- ^ a b Wilson 2000, p. 26.
- ^ Gaines 1985, p. 148.
- ^ "Aerospace, Volume 20." Royal Aeronautical Society, 1993, p. 14.
- ^ Nordeen 2006, p. 68.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "History – Technology leaders". Airbus. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
- ^ "Now, the Poor Man's Jumbo Jet". Time. 17 October 1977. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008.
- ^ Witkin, Richard (7 April 1978). "Eastern accepts $778 million deal to get 23 Airbuses". The New York Times.
- ^ Carman, Gerry (11 December 1979). "Airbus funds flow on". The Age. Australia.[dead link]
- ^ "The Airbus fight to stay ahead". BBC News. 23 June 2000. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
- ISBN 1-875671-58-7.
- ^ "Airbus faces critical decision in coming months". Reuters. 26 December 2001.
- ^ "BAe EAP ZF534: Museum Accession Number X005-5992." Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, Retrieved: 22 June 2019.
- ^ "BAe EAP." BAE Systems, Retrieved: 22 June 2019.
- ^ Cowton, Rodney (7 June 1986). "Eurofighter partners: West Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain". The Times.
- ^ "Impressum: Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH Am Söldnermoos 17 D-85399 Hallbergmoos Germany". Eurofighter. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ "1994: Maiden flight for future fighter jet." BBC News, 27 February 1994. Retrieved: 19 March 2008.
- ^ BBC "Euro-fighter contracts signed." BBC News, 30 January 1998. Retrieved: 18 September 2007.
- ^ Donne, Michael (12 August 1987). "BAe Hands Over First Part of Saudi Aircraft Order". Financial Times. p. 6.
- ^ Fildes, Nic (19 August 2006). "BAE confirms £5bn Eurofighter sale to Saudi Arabia". The Times. London. Retrieved 19 August 2006.
- ^ Steiner, Rupert (10 September 2006). "BAE clinches new £2.5bn Tornado deal with Saudis". The Business. Retrieved 12 September 2006.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Cassell, Michael (February 22, 1991). "The Rover Report; 'British Aerospace drove a hard bargain'". Financial Times.
- ^ a b "The Facts : 2004" (PDF). na.baesystems.com. p. 107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ a b "BAe's record-breaking sterling Eurobond issue" (PDF). 22 June 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ "History of Cellular services". licensing.ofcom.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ Betts, Paul (26 September 1991). "Leader toppled by unstoppable momentum". Financial Times. p. 28.
- ^ Harrison, Michael (26 September 1991). "Roland Smith ousted by boardroom coup at BAe". The Independent. Newspaper Publishing plc. p. 1.
- ISBN 1-85788-245-8.
- ^ a b Stone, Chris (16 September 1993). "BAe soars out of the red". The Herald. Caledonian Newspapers Ltd. pp. 3, 7. Retrieved 7 December 2006.
- ISBN 1-85788-245-8.
- ^ BAe confirms Matra venture, Financial Times (London), August 17, 1996
- ^ August, Oliver (June 19, 1997). "BAe in JSF link with Lockheed". The Times.
- ISBN 978-0-7881-4859-0.
- ^ "'The DECCA Legacy' A view from inside the RADAR company -DECCA - BAE SYSTEMS (1949 - 2009)". Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ Competition Commission (1995) British Aerospace Public Limited Company and VSEL Plc: A report on the proposed merger Archived 2 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine p. 28.
- ^ "Business: The Company File: Defense merger on the radar". BBC News. 10 July 1998. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
- ^ "BAe and Dasa discuss proposals for merger: Aerospace groups still have 'important issues to resolve'". Financial Times. 24 July 1998. p. 1.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Spiegel, Peter (17 July 2004). "End of an era at BAE: how Sir Richard Evans changed the UK defence industry". Financial Times.
- ^ BAE Systems Annual Report 1999 22. BAE Systems plc (2000). Retrieved on 27 October 2006.
- ^ Turpin, Andrew (4 March 2000). "BAE eyes US targets after profit rockets". The Scotsman. The Scotsman Publications. p. 26.
- ^ White, David; Nicoll, Alexander (12 June 1999). "DaimlerChrysler wins fight for Spain's Casa: Deal boosts aerospace industry consolidation in Europe". Financial Times.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "History of EADS". EADS. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
- ^ "BAe set to sign A8bn GEC deal with merger". The Guardian. 19 January 1999.
- ^ "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.
- hdl:1959.4/50342, retrieved 23 January 2021]
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Bibliography
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- Hewish, Mark. "Britain's First New Airliner for 18 years."[permanent dead link] New Scientist, 94(1311), 24 June 1982. pp. 857–859.
- Jackson, Paul, Kenneth Munson, Lindsay Peacock and John W. R. Taylor, eds. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1997–98. London: Jane's Information Group, 1998. ISBN 0-7106-1788-7.
- Lake, Jon. Great Book of Bombers. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Zenith Imprint, 2002. ISBN 0-7603-1347-4.
- Nordeen, Lon O (2006). Harrier II, Validating V/STOL. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2006. ISBN 1-59114-536-8..
- Segell, Glen (1 January 1997). Wither or Dither: British Aerospace Collaborative Procurement with Europe. Staffordshire, UK: Glen Segell Publishers, 1997. ISBN 1-901414-03-5..
- Velupillai, David. "British Aerospace 146 Described." Flight International, 2 May 1981. pp. 1243–1253.
- Wilson, Stewart (2000). BAe/McDonnell Douglas Harrier. Airlife, 2000. ISBN 1-84037-218-4..