The company was created on November 30, 1999 through the merging of
Marconi Electronic Systems (MES) and
British Aerospace (BAe) to form BAE Systems. Their respective subsidiaries in the
USA, Marconi North America and British Aerospace North America, were similarly merged to form BAE Systems North America. BAE Systems' 2003 Annual Report stated "in recent years BAE Systems has undergone a... transformation from a UK-based aircraft manufacturer to a broadly-based systems business. Through this transformation the company has achieved a more balanced portfolio and geographic spread." BAE Systems North America was renamed BAE Systems Inc. in 2005 following a major reorganization of BAE Systems plc as a result of the
SELEX Sistemi Integrati and
United Defense Industries transactions.
Expansion BAE has described the rationale for expansion in the US; "[it] is by far the largest defense market with spend running close to twice that of the Western European nations combined. Importantly, US investment in research and development is significantly higher than in Western Europe." When
Dick Olver was appointed Chairman in July 2004 he ordered a review of the company's businesses which ruled out further European acquisitions or joint ventures and confirmed a "strategic bias" for expansion and investment in the U.S. In 1999, the most significant part of the newly created BAE Systems North America was
Tracor, which was acquired after its sale to the company's subsidiary, Marconi North America, in 1998. These two companies generated $2.5 billion in sales to the US Department of Defense in the same year. Since 1999, almost all of BAE Systems' growth has been concentrated in the U.S. BAE Systems North America has grown to the point where its sales to the
U.S. Department of Defense have surpassed those of its parent to the
UK Ministry of Defence. BAE Systems is now by far the largest foreign investor in the US defense industry. With BAE's comprehensive military agreement with the US government and the political and military ties that exist between the US and the UK, BAE Systems has faced little opposition to acquisitions of important US defense contractors. In April 2000, BAE purchased
Lockheed Martin Control Systems (LMCS), a manufacturer of electronic controls for aircraft, space vehicles and the transportation industry for US$510 million. LMCS was renamed
BAE Systems Platform Solutions. In November 2000 BAE Systems purchased
Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronic Systems, a defense systems company which encompassed
Sanders,
Fairchild Systems and Lockheed Martin Space Electronics & Communications. Following an internal reorganization the division became
BAE Systems Electronics & Integrated Solutions (E&IS). This acquisition was described by
John Hamre, CEO of the
Center for Strategic and International Studies and former
Deputy Secretary of Defense, as "precedent setting" given the advanced and classified nature of many of that company's products. In December 2002 BAE Systems completed its acquisition of
Condor Pacific, Inc. for $58.5 million. Condor Pacific was a manufacturer of sensors and guidance systems for the aerospace industry. In 2003 BAE Systems acquired
Advanced Power Technologies, Inc (APTI), a data exploitation company and provider of communications and networking solutions, for $27 million. APTI was merged into E&IS. In March 2003 BAE Systems acquired
MEVATEC, a provider of "professional technical services", which was renamed
BAE Systems Analytical & Ordnance Solutions. In 2004 BAE Systems purchased
STI Government Systems, a provider of "photonics, information technologies, system integration ...and a variety of services to other government agencies in areas such as pollution mapping and search and rescue." STI is now part of the CNIR division of BAE Systems E&IS. In August 2004 BAE Systems acquired
Boeing Commercial Electronics (now part of the Platform Solutions unit of BAE Systems E&IS). In September 2004 BAE announced the acquisition of the technology company
DigitalNet Holdings Inc. The deal was completed on October 25, 2004 for approximately $600 million and the company was merged into the newly created
BAE Systems Information Technology. Also in September 2004 BAE announced it was to acquire ALPHATECH, a Massachusetts-based image and signal processing company. ALPHATECH was renamed
BAE Systems Advanced Information Technologies. On March 7, 2005 BAE announced the acquisition of
United Defense a major manufacturer of combat vehicles, artillery and naval guns. The company was a manufacturer of diversified products for the military, law enforcement, and personnel safety markets. BAE has received large contracts as a result of the UDI and Armor Holdings acquisitions; for example $1.1bn worth of refurbishment and upgrading work, an order in January 2008 for medium mine-protected vehicles (MMPVs) which could earn up to $2.3bn, and a $2.24bn contract for mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles in December 2007. On December 12, 2007, BAE announced the acquisition of
Dayton, Ohio-based MTC Technologies. The purchase was finalized in June 2008. On February 16, 2024, BAE announced the completion of its acquisition of
Ball Aerospace from
Ball Corporation, and the re-branding of that acquisition as BAE Space and Mission Systems (SMS), for a purchase price of $5.5 billion (U.S.). At the time of the acquisition, approximately 5,200 employees were transferred from the former Ball Aerospace to BAE SMS. ==Organization/Products==