BAe Dynamics
Encyclopedia
British Aerospace Dynamics Limited (BADL or BAe Dynamics) was a division of British Aerospace
.
, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and Scottish Aviation
.
The missile, weapon systems and space businesses of these companies were merged into British Aerospace Dynamics Limited (BADL), a wholly owned subsidiary of BAe.
In December 1979, Euromissile Dynamics Group
was formed with Aérospatiale
of Toulouse, France and MBB
of Ottobrunn
.
on February 4, 1981. In 1989 the then fully privatised BAe instituted a company wide restructuring. BAe Dynamics was rationalised with the particular aim of reducing costs. Along with redundancies the main part of this was the closing of four of the company's facilities; Bracknell
, Hatfield
, Bolton
and Weymouth.
In 1981 it was conducting important research into passive infra-red surveillance.
In 1994 the BAe Dynamics subsidiary British Aerospace Space Systems
was sold to Matra Marconi Space
.
In the mid-1990s, development work for the Meteor
missile took place.
. This group now forms part of MBDA
.
British Aerospace
British 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...
.
History
British Aerospace was created in April 1977 by the merger of the British Aircraft CorporationBritish 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...
, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, Hawker Siddeley Dynamics and Scottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation
Scottish Aviation Limited was a Scottish aircraft manufacturer, based at Prestwick in South Ayrshire.-History:Originally a flying school operator the company took on maintenance work in 1938....
.
Formation
There were two companies in the formation:- BAC (Guided Weapons)
- Hawker Siddeley Dynamics
The missile, weapon systems and space businesses of these companies were merged into British Aerospace Dynamics Limited (BADL), a wholly owned subsidiary of BAe.
In December 1979, Euromissile Dynamics Group
Euromissile
Euromissile was a European consortium set up in the 1970s by DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG of Germany and Aérospatiale of France to produce the Euromissile HOT anti-tank missile. All activities have been merged and are now part of MBDA....
was formed with Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale
Aérospatiale was a French aerospace manufacturer that built both civilian and military aircraft, rockets and satellites. It was originally known as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale...
of Toulouse, France and MBB
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm was a German aerospace company formed as the result of several mergers in the late 1960s. Among its best-known products was the MBB Bo 105 light twin helicopter...
of Ottobrunn
Ottobrunn
Ottobrunn is a municipality southeast of Munich, Bavaria, Germany, founded in 1955. Ottobrunn consists of mainly semi-detached and detached houses, and lots of gardens...
.
Rationalisation
British Aerospace was partially privatisedPrivatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
on February 4, 1981. In 1989 the then fully privatised BAe instituted a company wide restructuring. BAe Dynamics was rationalised with the particular aim of reducing costs. Along with redundancies the main part of this was the closing of four of the company's facilities; Bracknell
Bracknell
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Reading, southwest of Windsor and west of central London...
, Hatfield
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
and Weymouth.
In 1981 it was conducting important research into passive infra-red surveillance.
Subsidiary company
On January 1, 1992 British Aerospace Defence Ltd began trading as a wholly owned subsidiary of BAe. Previously separate defence companies now operated as divisions of that subsidiary;- British Aerospace (Dynamics) Ltd
- British Aerospace (Military Aircraft) Ltd,
- Royal Ordnance plc
- British Aerospace Systems and Services Division (BAe SSD)
In 1994 the BAe Dynamics subsidiary British Aerospace Space Systems
British Aerospace Space Systems
British Aerospace Space Systems Ltd was a subsidiary of British Aerospace.In 1994, it was sold to Matra Marconi Space, which also acquired Ferranti Satcomms at the same time. British Aerospace regained an interest in the company when it merged with GEC's Marconi Electronic Systems to form BAE Systems...
was sold to Matra Marconi Space
Matra Marconi Space
Matra Marconi Space was a Franco-British aerospace company.-History:Matra Marconi Space was established in 1990 as a joint venture between the space and telecommunication divisions of the Lagardère Group and the GEC group .The merged company was announced in December 1989 and was owned 51% by...
.
In the mid-1990s, development work for the Meteor
MBDA Meteor
Meteor is an active radar guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile being developed by MBDA. It is to equip the Eurofighter Typhoons of the UK's Royal Air Force , Germany's Luftwaffe, Spain's Ejército del Aire and Italy's Aeronautica Militare Italiana, the British and Italian F-35s , the...
missile took place.
Merger with Matra
In 1996 BAe Dynamics' guided weapons division was merged with a division of Matra Defense to form the (then) largest European missile manufacturer, Matra BAe DynamicsMatra BAe Dynamics
Matra BAe Dynamics was formed in August 1996 by merger of half the missile business of Matra Defense of France and BAe Dynamics of the UK and was Europe's largest manufacturer of missiles and UAVs....
. This group now forms part of MBDA
MBDA
MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States. It was formed by a merger of Aérospatiale-Matra Missiles , Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001. In 2003 the company had 10,000 employees...
.
Space
In 1980 it built a space camera at its Filton site. It built a 107000 sq ft (9,940.6 m²) factory in the mid-1980s at Filton for design, production and testing of satellites.Missiles
- ALARM (missile), built with Marconi Space and Defence Systems
- Rapier (missile) SAM, designed earlier by BACBritish Aircraft CorporationThe 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...
(Guided Weapons), and developed with Marconi Space and Defence Systems (the Blindfire radar), and was superior to the comparative Roland - Sea Dart (missile), designed earlier by Hawker Siddeley Dynamics
- Sea Eagle (missile)Sea Eagle (missile)The BAe Sea Eagle is a medium weight sea-skimming anti-ship missile designed and built by BAe Dynamics . It is designed to sink or disable ships up to the size of aircraft carriers in the face of jamming and other countermeasures including decoys...
ASM - Sea SkuaSea SkuaThe Sea Skua is a British lightweight short-range air-to-surface missile designed for use from helicopters against ships. It is primarily used by the Royal Navy on the Westland Lynx helicopter, although Kuwait uses it in a shore battery and on their Umm Al Maradem fast attack craft.The British...
ASM - Sea Wolf (missile) SAM
- SkyflashSkyflashThe British Aerospace Skyflash was a medium-range semi-active radar homing air-to-air missile derived from the US AIM-7 Sparrow missile and carried by Royal Air Force F-4 Phantoms and Tornado F3s, Italian Aeronautica Militare and Royal Saudi Air Force Tornados and Swedish Flygvapnet Viggens...
AAM
Satellites
- Giotto (spacecraft), approached Halley's Comet in March 1986 (made at Filton)
- Orbital Test SatelliteOrbital Test SatelliteThe Orbital Test Satellite programme was an experimental satellite system inherited by the ESA in 1975 from its predecessor, the European Space Research Organization ....
- Skynet (satellite), built with MSDS
Chief Executives
- George Jefferson (1977–80), also Chairman, and former Managing Director of Managing Director of English Electric Guided Weapons Division, and BAC (Guided Weapons), and later the first Chairman of British TelecomBT GroupBT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
from 1980 - Admiral Sir Raymond LygoRaymond LygoAdmiral Sir Raymond Lygo KCB is a former Royal Navy officer who went on to be Vice Chief of the Naval Staff.-Naval career:...
(1980-)