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British Aerospace
Electronics
(BAE Systems)
CEO: Mike Turner
Defense Contracts, 1998-2003: $4.8
billion
Campaign Contributions, 1998-2003
$468,608 (Democrat),
$732,810 (Republican)
Headquarters: Farnborough, UK
Website: http://www.baesystems.com/
BAE Systems started out as British Aerospace in 1977.
In February of 1981, the British government sold 51.57% of
its shares to the public. In May of 1985, the UK Government
sold its remaining BAE shares but kept a special £1
share to ensure that the company remains under UK control.
A detailed time line of company developments can be found at:
www.baesystems.co.uk/facts/pages/evolution.htm
BAE Systems became the biggest arms producing company in the
world after merging with GEC and acquiring $1.67bn of Lockheed
Martin's Aerospace Electronics Systems. According
to the Economist (23.12.2000), 82% of BAE Systems’ profits
are from arms sales, totalling $19 billion. BAE Systems has
120 locations in the UK, 60 in North America, 28 in Europe,
15 in Australia, 3 in the Far East, 2 in Africa and 1 in India.
BAE Systems is one of the 10 companies awared $13 million from
NATO for a feasibility study of "Team Forces" (18 NATO countries).
BAE Systems controls between a quarter and a fifth of this contract.
The
Dirt BAE Makes
Hawk: advanced jet advanced
trainer
Aircraft through the Joint Strike
Fighter (JSF) Program: BAE was promised 10-15% of work on
the US Joint Strike Project.
NIMROD Aircraft: In 1996,
BAE Systems was awarded a £2 billion contract for the
remanufacturing of 21 Nimrod aircraft. The main roles of Nimrod
MRA4 are maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface
unit warfare and search and rescue.
Tornado Aircraft: Is an all-weather
combat aircraft, which is no longer in production, but ongoing
maintenance continues after sale.
The Eurofighter Typhoon:
It is the world’s most advanced swing-role combat aircraft,
eurofighter-typhoon.com
Astute Class Submarine: BAE
Systems is the prime contractor for the Astute Class of submarine
under contract worth around £2 billion. As prime contractor,
BAE Systems is responsible for the design, build and initial
in-service support of three Astutes with options for a "second
buy".
Type 45 Destroyer: The main
mission of the Type 45 anti-air warfare destroyer is to provide
local area fleet defence, with long range radar and wide area
defence capability.
Customers
United States: BAE Systems
sells more to the US Department of Defence (DoD) than it does
to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Indonesia: BAE Systems’ sales to Indonesia
are notorious. BAE Systems’ Hawks were exported to the
Suharto regime and the supply was continued regardless of political
developments in Jakarta or the terrifying violence that erupted
after the independence referendum in East Timor.
Turkey: BAE Systems broke into the Turkish small arms
market by purchasing the German company, Heckler & Koch,
now to be sold, which supplies the bulk of Turkey's infantry
weapons. These weapons are now produced by Turkish companies
under licence and thus, escape both German and UK exports controls.
Qatar/Algeria: The Sunday Times (16.6.2000) reported that
BAE Systems had made an application to export £5 million
worth of military equipment to Qatar, which Qatar intended as
a gift to Algeria.
Saudi
Arabia: In its statement, BAE said the controversial
Al Yamamah military program in Saudi Arabia would "continue
to contribute substantially" to the company's performance. BAE
said it would be stepping up investment aimed at expanding its
Saudi business. The Al Yamamah deals of the mid-late 1980s for
the sale of Tornados and Hawks were unprecedented. Al Yamamah
II alone was, in the words of the Financial Times (9.7.1988),
"the biggest [UK] sale ever of anything to anyone". The deals
were a clear endorsement of a country with a history of brutal
repression and a "persistent pattern of gross human rights abuses"
(Amnesty International Report 1999). The Economist (23.12.2000)
suggests that "the company not only supplies Saudi Arabia with
fighter aircraft but virtually runs its air force".
South Africa: BAE Systems is part of the pan-European arms
deal with South Africa, and is due to provide Hawks and Gripen
fighters. Churches and NGOs in South Africa have condemned this
deal, as it will divert resources from health, education and
social welfare.
India:
BAE Systems appears to be on the edge of finalising a contract
for the sale of 66 advanced trainer jets to India (Hawk jets)
for £1.42 billion. For
more news.
BAE Systems' Subsidiaries
and Dirty Partners
There are hundreds of joint ventures and projects between
BAE Systems and other companies.
Airbus
Integrated Company (AIC): BAE Systems currently holds
a 20 per cent interest in AIC. AIC develops and manufactures
the company’s fleet of short, medium, long and very long-range
airliners for sale to airlines around the world.
Alenia
Marconi Systems: BAE Systems holds a 50% share in the
company with the other 50% share belonging to Finmeccanica of
Italy. The company is a major force in European defence and
electronics.
It has a turnover of over 1.9 bn. Alenia Marconi Systems has
an established international customer base in over 100 countries.
Astrium: Astrium
is the largest space company in Europe. BAE Systems has 25%
of the shares while the European Aeronautic Defence and Space
Company owns 75% of the shares. Astrium specialises in science
programs, civil and military Earth observation and communications
satellites and ground systems, navigation constellations, launchers
and space infrastructure.
BAE
Systems Canada: Most of BAE Systems Canada is owned
by BAE Systems. The company produces both commercial and military
avionics products, including flight management systems based
on the Global Positioning System (GPS) for manufacturers like
Boeing, for installation and retrofitting on airlines. The U.S.
Marines and Army are also customers for products such as line-of-sight
and high frequency tactical radios.
BAE
Systems Cincinnati Electronic Corporation is a US subsidiary
of BAE Systems Canada, which produces infrared missile warning
systems and surveillance cameras. (Mason, Ohio).
Northstar
designs, manufactures and produces marine navigation systems
including marine, avionics, and other land-based positioning
equipment. (Acton, Massachusetts)
NovAtel
Inc. is a subsidiary of BAE Systems Canada based in
Calgary, Alberta. Its products are used principally for applications
in high-end markets such as surveying, GIS, aviation, marine,
mining, machine control, agriculture and precise timing. In
1998, BAE Systems Canada Inc. purchased 58.3% of NovAtel's shares,
becoming a majority shareholder.
European
Industry Lobby, EUROSPACE: Eurospace was created in
1961, at the dawn of the European space era, as the organization
of the European Space Industry. It is an international non-profit
association whose members are the main European industrial space
companies.
RO
Defence: "Global Footprint Operations" - RO Defence
is an international business supplying weapons and technology
to more than 50 countries, and is a major supplier to both the
U.K. and U.S. armies. RO Defence focuses on weapons systems,
munitions, rocket motors and small arms ammunition. The unit
even provides training, testing and logistic services for all
of its products.
STN
Atlas: BAE Systems has a 49 % stake in the company.
It is one of the leading German companies in the field of defence
electronics and systems engineering. It specialises in naval
systems, simulation systems, land systems and airborne systems
divisions
SAAB
AB: BAE Systems announced a 35% share in SAAB AB
in April 1998. SAAB ABs' main operations focus on defence, aviation
and space. SAAB AB is the maker's of the Gripen aircraft, which
BAE Systems is marketing, especially to South Africa and Eastern
Europe.
Thomson
Marconi Sonar: BAE Systems owns 49.9% of this company.
It is a major sonar exporter to over 40 customers worldwide.
Thomson Marconi Sonar has over 40 years experience in the support
of surface ship, submarine and airborne sonar systems.
For
more information please see Campaign
Against the Arms Trade for information on Western European
Aerospace & Defence Industries, and The
Ownership Jigsaw, which contains detailed listings of subsidiaries,
including their base of operation and main activities.
This research and report was
compiled by Mikele Aboitiz, Sheri Gibbings, and Felicity Hill
of Reaching Critical
Will.
Aerospace Contributions
Programs and Products:
In 2001, BAE and formed a joint venture in missile systems,
called MBDA,
with other European aerospace corporations. MBDA is a
€2.5 billion missile manufacturer, challenging Raytheon
and Lockheed Martin for dominance of the
European defense market. MBDA is the prime contractor
or principal partner in developing major European missile systems,
and also provides technical and engineering support to missile
systems.
Outside of MBDA, BAE’s space weapon and missile defence
technology includes tactical surveillance, infrared, and space
electronics. Its missile defense contracts increased
from $78 million in 2001 to $93 million in 2004. In July
2002, BAE and Boeing signed a missile
defense memorandum
of understanding, agreeing to collaborate on missile defense
contracts. This move gave MBDA more
access to the US market. Similar agreements with Northrop
Grumman and Lockheed
Martin followed during the summer of 2003. While Lockheed
Martin and BAE were already working together on the US Missile
Defense System, their agreement allowed them both to expand
internationally.
In April 2002, the first tests
of BAE’s Common Missile
Warning System were conducted. This system was developed
to warn fighter planes about infrared missile threats and to
cue countermeasures to take out the enemy missile.
In 2004, the Department of Homeland Security gave Northrop
Grumman and BAE $45 million each to adapt
military defense systems to civilian airliners. As part of Homeland
Security’s Counter-Man Portable Air Defense Systems (Counter-MANPADS),
the Northrop Grumman and BAE systems are designed to detect
a missile launch from a MANPAD and then direct a laser to the
head of the missile and disrupt (jam) its guidance signals.
MANPADS are shoulder-launched missiles that are considered to
be a particular threat to airplanes and helicopters. Former
Secretary of State Colin Powell once warned
that "no threat is more serious to aviation" than MANPADS, which
are easy to use and readily available on the black market.
A 2005 Rand study estimated it would cost
$11 billion to protect every US airliner from MANPADS.
In addition, Aviation Week reports,
“The Bush Administration has spent more that $121 million
researching counter-MANPADS measures since 2003, but DHS has
never committed to acquiring any specific technology.”
BAE claims
to recognize “its responsibilities to the people it employs,
its customers and suppliers, its shareholders, the wider community
and to the environment.” American taxpayers, who
are footing the $45 million bill for BAE’s Counter-MANPADS
technology that will probably never be used, might beg to differ.
This research and report was
compiled by Ray Acheson of Reaching
Critical Will in February 2007 in coordination with the
Secure World
Foundation.
For More Profiles:
See BAE Systems' PDF
Dirty Dozen profile.
Alliant Techsystems
Bechtel Corporation
Boeing
British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL)
General Dynamics
IBM
Lockheed Martin
Mitsubishi
Northrop Grumman
Raytheon
Siemens
University of California
Dirty Dozen Annex
777 UN Plaza - 6th Floor - New York, NY - 10017 - Ph: 212.682.1265 - Fax: 212.286.8211 - info@reachingcriticalwill.org
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