Early activities The company that would eventually become Ultra Electronics was started by
wireless specialist
Teddy Rosen as Edward E. Rosen & Co. during 1920. The firm was initially focused upon the manufacture of high quality
headphones and
loudspeakers. During 1923, the company relocated to new premises at Harrow Road, London. In 1925, a new company, known as
Ultra Electric Ltd., was formed; the
Ultra name had been previously used for one of its products, the first commercial moving iron loudspeaker. During the 1930s, Ultra manufactured a wide range of domestic radio receivers including the
Blue Fox,
Lynx,
Panther and
Tiger models. During the
Second World War, Ultra diversified into aviation; the
Short Stirling was the first aircraft to incorporate their products, the company acting as a
subcontractor to produce tails and bomb doors for the bomber. Ultra would produce a wide range of aerostructures for numerous aircraft throughout the conflict. The firm solely focused on wartime demands, only relaunching itself into the civilian market during 1947, although it would continue to have an interest in the military sector during the
post-war period. In 1961, Ultra's consumer electronics interests became part of
Thorn Electrical Industries, who continued to manufacture products using the Ultra brandname until 1974. In 1962, Ultra developed their Search and Rescue and Homing (SARAH) radio beacon, this would be widely used throughout the world.
Reemergence In 1993, Ultra was the subject of a
management buyout, led by Julian Blogh, of seven
Dowty Group plc companies which formed the Dowty Group Electronic Systems Divisions, which had been previously acquired by
TI Group during 1992. In September 1995, Ultra Electronics received its first major export order from the
American government, to supply support equipment for its
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II fleet. It was
floated on the
London Stock Exchange in 1996. During the late 1990s, Ultra Electronics began to vigorously promote its active noise control systems, marketed as
UltraQuiet: the firm argued that aircraft manufacturers can deploy it to decrease cabin noise, which has been a traditionally prevalent drawback of
turboprop-powered aircraft, such as
regional airliners, in comparison to their
jet-powered counterparts. It also developed further noise reduction technologies during this period. Various companies, including
Bombardier Aerospace and
Airbus, have chosen to incorporate Ultra Electronics' noise reduction and vibration dampening products onto their aircraft. According to
Flight International, since regaining its independence in the 1990s, the corporate strategy of Ultra Electronics appears to have been slanted towards maintaining a diverse product range, avoiding any large exposures to a single market, as well as being intentionally widely dispersed geographically. In 2000, Ultra Electronics acquired
Datel Ferranti Group. As the latter is a key national security and defence contractor and Cobham is American owned, the acquisition was the subject of a national security review. In July 2022, the UK government approved the transaction subject to undertakings by Cobham and Ultra. ==Operations==