BAE Systems Military Air Solutions
Encyclopedia
BAE Systems Military Air & Information (MAI, formerly Military Air Solutions (MAS)) 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
.
Military Air Solutions & Support (MASS) business units. The unit through its products and operating bases encompasses nearly a hundred years of industrial history. MAI direct ancestors include the English Electric Company, British Aircraft Corporation
, Avro
, Blackburn Aircraft
, Hawker Siddeley and the Bristol Aeroplane Company
.
Some of the products that have been produced by MAI's predecessors include the English Electric Lightning
, Hawker Hunter
, English Electric Canberra
, Blackburn Buccaneer
and the ill fated TSR-2. In recognition a Lightning fighter and Canberra bomber serve as gate guardians at MAI's Samlesbury site where both were manufactured.
The firm also has a major presence on many RAF stations; notably RAF Coningsby
and RAF Marham
.
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...
responsible for the design, development, manufacture and support of fixed wing military aircraft. MAI customers include the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, Royal Saudi Air Force
Royal Saudi Air Force
The Royal Saudi Air Force , is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabian armed forces. The RSAF has developed from a largely defensive military force into one with an advanced offensive capability...
, US Navy and Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
.
History
MAI was formed on 1 January 2011 through a merger of the Air Systems and CS&SBAE Systems Customer Solutions & Support
BAE Systems Customer Solutions & Support provides through-life support and upgrades for defence forces. The RAF Tornado GR4 upgrade is an example of the work undertaken by the CS&S division....
Military Air Solutions & Support (MASS) business units. The unit through its products and operating bases encompasses nearly a hundred years of industrial history. MAI direct ancestors include the English Electric Company, 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...
, Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
, Blackburn Aircraft
Blackburn Aircraft
Blackburn Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that concentrated mainly on naval and maritime aircraft during the first part of the 20th century.-History:...
, Hawker Siddeley and the Bristol Aeroplane Company
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
.
Some of the products that have been produced by MAI's predecessors include the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The 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 ...
, Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The 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...
, English Electric Canberra
English Electric Canberra
The 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...
, Blackburn Buccaneer
Blackburn Buccaneer
The 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...
and the ill fated TSR-2. In recognition a Lightning fighter and Canberra bomber serve as gate guardians at MAI's Samlesbury site where both were manufactured.
Sites
- Warton AerodromeWarton AerodromeWarton Aerodrome is located near to Warton village on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. The aerodrome is west of Preston, Lancashire, UK.Today the airfield is a major assembly and testing facility of BAE Systems Military Air Solutions....
, LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
- Warton is the headquarters of MAI and home to the central assembly facility for the 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...
, 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...
configuration and to the upgrades for HarrierHarrier 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...
and the 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...
. The divisions major testing facilities and commercial offices are based there.
- Samlesbury AerodromeSamlesbury AerodromeSamlesbury Aerodrome is a disused airfield at Balderstone near Samlesbury, in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. The aerodrome is owned by defence company BAE Systems which uses the site for manufacturing of several aircraft types...
, LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
- Samlesbury, situated between Blackburn and Preston, is home to the production facilities for the Typhoon front fuselage and 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 ....
as well as home to BAE's F-35 Lightning 2 involvement. Sections for AirbusAirbusAirbus 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....
are also subcontracted to the site. The site unlike many other MAI sites does not have an operational runway. The runway closed in the 1980s and is used today by Lancashire Police for training as well as the Air Training CorpsAir Training CorpsThe Air Training Corps , commonly known as the Air Cadets, is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is part of the Air Cadet Organisation and the Royal Air Force . It is supported by the Ministry of Defence, with a regular RAF Officer, currently Air...
for Glider training.
- Brough AerodromeBrough AerodromeBrough Aerodrome is located at Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.The site was first used by the Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company during World War I for the testing of seaplanes....
, YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
- Brough near to HullKingston upon HullKingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
is home to Hawk production and assembly before the aircraft is sent to Warton to be configured. In January 2008 the runway at Brough reopened with a Hawk 128 the first aircraft to take off in nearly a decade.
- Woodford Aerodrome, Greater ManchesterGreater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
- Woodford near ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
was home to the conversion of the Nimrod MR2 to MRA4BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4The BAE Systems Nimrod MRA4 was a maritime patrol and attack aircraft intended to replace the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2. The rebuilt aircraft would have extended the operating life of the Nimrod fleet by several decades and have significantly improved the aircraft by almost doubling the flight...
standard, the site is currently in the closing down phase.
- ChaddertonChaddertonChadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...
, Greater ManchesterGreater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
- Chadderton near ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
is a former manufacturing facility (Historically as AvroAvroAvro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
) but the site continues as a major office centre for the company.
- Preston, Lancashire - Several of the unit's central functional offices are located in Strand Road area of the city as well as well as the Apprentice training centre.
- Robin Hood Airport, South YorkshireSouth YorkshireSouth Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
- The companies Aircraft Maintenance Training Centre is located at the airport.
The firm also has a major presence on many RAF stations; notably RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby
RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England. It has been commanded by Group Captain Martin Sampson since 10 December 2010.-Operational units:...
and RAF Marham
RAF Marham
Royal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....
.
Products
- 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...
- BAE Systems has a 33% share in Eurofighter GmbHEurofighter GmbHEurofighter 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,...
along with Alenia and EADSEADSThe European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
's Spanish and German divisions. MAI is responsible for the production of all RAF and Saudi aircraft as well as designing and producing all front fuselages for the programme. - Nimrod MRA4 - MAI is rebuilding the Nimrod aircraft to the upgraded MRA4 service for the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. (MRA4 cancelled in 2010.) - 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...
- MAI predessor British AerospaceBritish AerospaceBritish 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...
manufactured all RAF and Saudi aircraft and MAI continues to offer support to these air forces. - 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...
- MAI predessor British Aerospace manufactured all RAF and Saudi aircraft and MAI continues to offer support to these air forces. - BAE Harrier II - Originally developed and manufactured at Dunsfold and Kingston the business unit today provides support and upgrades to the aircraft.
- 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...
- The Hawk trainer is manufactured at BroughBrough, East Riding of YorkshireBrough , or Brough-on-Humber, is a small town in the civil parish of Elloughton-cum-Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town has a population of around 7,000.-Location:...
and has been produced for numerous armed forces around the globe including the RAF, RAAF, RCAF and South African Air ForceSouth African Air ForceThe South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
. - 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 ....
- A naval development of the Hawk aircraft manufactured with BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
for the US Navy
UAVs and drones
- Advanced Systems and Future Capability (AS&FC)
- BAE AmpersandBAE Ampersand-See also:...
- BAE Corax
- BAE GA22
- BAE HERTIBAE HERTIThe BAE Systems HERTI is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the British company BAE Systems. HERTI stands for "High Endurance Rapid Technology Insertion" and was developed in Warton, United Kingdom. The HERTI airframe is based on a motor glider designed by Jaroslaw Janowski of J&AS Aero...
- BAE MantisBAE Mantis-External links:...
- BAE Systems PhoenixBAE Systems Phoenix-External links:* * *...
- BAE Skylynx IIBAE Skylynx IIThe BAE Systems Skylynx II is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed to support US Marine Corps Tier II regiment-level reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition missions. The aircraft flew its maiden flight on August 9, 2006 at the Yuma Proving Grounds, Yuma, Arizona...
- BAE TaranisBAE TaranisThe BAE Systems Taranis is a British demonstrator program for Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle technology. A semi-autonomous unmanned warplane, it is designed to fly intercontinental missions, and will carry a variety of weapons, enabling it to attack both aerial and ground targets...
- BAE Ampersand