DASA
Encyclopedia
Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and internal combustion engines; founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest - which was valid until year 2000 - was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had...
(later DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler
Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...
and Daimler AG) from 1989. In July 2000 DaimlerChrysler Aerospace merged with Aérospatiale-Matra
Aérospatiale-Matra
Aérospatiale-Matra was a French missile and aircraft manufacturer. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of French companies Aérospatiale and Matra Haute Technologie....
and CASA
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA , was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer. It became EADS CASA the Spanish branch of EADS in 1999, but was absorbed by Airbus Military in 2009...
to form EADS
EADS
The 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...
.
History
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace was founded as Deutsche Aerospace AG on May 19, 1989 by the merger of Daimler-Benz's aerospace interests MTUMTU Aero Engines
MTU Aero Engines GmbH is Germany's leading aircraft engine manufacturer. MTU develops, manufactures and provides service support for military and civil aircraft engines...
, Dornier
Dornier Flugzeugwerke
Dornier Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in Friedrichshafen in 1914 by Claudius Dornier. Over the course of its long lifespan, the company produced many notable designs for both the civil and military markets.-History:...
and two divisions of AEG
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
. In July 1989 the two AEG divisions were themselves merged within Deutsche Aerospace to form Telefunken Systemtechnik (TST).
In December 1989 Daimler-Benz acquired Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
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...
(MBB) and merged it into Daimler-Benz Aerospace.
In March 1990 Daimler-Benz initiated a major restructuring of the new group, integrating the previously separate companies into five product groups; Aircraft, Space Systems, Defense and Civil Systems/Propulsion. Several companies continued to exist under their own names but by 1992 most (including MBB and TST) were fully integrated. In 1992, the helicopter division was joined to 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...
's helicopter division to form the Eurocopter Group
Eurocopter Group
The Eurocopter Group is a global helicopter manufacturing and support company. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located on the property of Marseille-Provence International Airport in Marignane, France, near Marseille...
.
On January 1, 1995 the company changed its name to Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG. With the 1998 merger of Daimler Benz and The Chrysler Corporation, the company was renamed DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG on November 7, 1998.
Transition to EADS
Defence consolidation became a major issue in 1998, with numerous reports linking various European defence groups — mainly with each other, but also with American defence contractors.It was widely anticipated that DaimlerChrysler Aerospace would merge with British Aerospace
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...
(BAe) to form a Anglo
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
aerospace giant, however BAe chose instead to merge with GEC's defence electronics business, Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems
Marconi Electronic Systems , or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of The General Electric Company . It was demerged from GEC and acquired by British Aerospace on November 30, 1999 to form BAE Systems...
. This move, to create a UK company compared to what would have been an Anglo-German firm, made the possibility of further penetration of the United States (US) defence market more likely.
On July 10, 2000 DASA (minus MTU) merged with Aérospatiale-Matra
Aérospatiale-Matra
Aérospatiale-Matra was a French missile and aircraft manufacturer. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of French companies Aérospatiale and Matra Haute Technologie....
of France and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA)
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA , was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer. It became EADS CASA the Spanish branch of EADS in 1999, but was absorbed by Airbus Military in 2009...
of Spain to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS
EADS
The 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...
). The former DaimlerChrysler Aerospace now operates as EADS Germany.
Projects
In 1993 MiG Aircraft Support GmbH was established with DaimlerChrysler Aerospace holding a 50% stake. The company undertook the upgrade of the 24 MiG-29sMikoyan MiG-29
The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...
to NATO standards. The aircraft were inherited from the former East Germany after the reunification of the country.
As part of the Eurofighter
Eurofighter Typhoon
The 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...
consortium DaimlerChrysler Aerospace manufactured the centre fuselage sections of all the development aircraft, (DA) beginning with DA1 which made its first flight from DaimlerChrysler Aerospace's Manching facility in March 1994. DaimlerChrysler Aerospace was responsible for the mid life upgrade (MLU) of the German fleet of Panavia Tornado
Panavia Tornado
The 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...
s, similar to the RAF's GR4 upgrade.
Owing to its expertise with German and NATO aircraft DaimlerChrysler Aerospace became an expert in upgrade of many allied aircraft, including the F-4 Phantom II
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
and the E-3 Sentry
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
.