BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is one of the largest

defence contractor The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and ser ...

s in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of

Armor Holdings Armor Holdings, Inc. was an American manufacturer of military, law enforcement, and personnel safety equipment. It was acquired by BAE Systems on July 31, 2007 and renamed BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems. The divisions have been reorgani ...

in 2007 and

Tenix Defence Tenix Defence was Australia's largest defence contractor with core capabilities in Aerospace, Land, Marine and Electronic Systems applications. BAE Systems announced its intention to acquire the company from Tenix in January 2008 and the acquisitio ...

in June 2008.

History

BAE Systems' Australian heritage dates back to testing of the first generation air defence missile systems at the

Woomera Test Range The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia, approximately north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a d ...

in the early 1950s. Weapons testing at Woomera began in 1953 by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and the

English Electric Company N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...

. Both companies merged to become the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). In 1977, BAC was nationalised and operations in Australia were renamed

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

Australia. British Aerospace Australia doubled in size in April 1996 with the purchase of AWA Defence Industries (AWADI). AWADI was formed in October 1988 by the merger of the defence electronics business of AWA Ltd,

Thorn EMI Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comic ...

Electronics Australia and Fairey Australasia. BAE Systems was formed on 30 November 1999, following the merger of British Aerospace with the

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...

's (GEC) defence arm,

Marconi Electronic Systems Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of General Electric Company (GEC). It was demerged from GEC and bought by British Aerospace (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form BAE Systems. GEC then renam ...

. BAE Systems Australia expanded with its parent company's acquisition of

in 2007 and doubled in size with the purchase of

in June 2008.

Products and services

BAE Systems Australia provides many products and services to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) including: Fast Jet support, Military Flight Training, Autonomous Systems, Guided Weapons (naval air defence) and Communications, Command & Support. BAE Systems Australia operates two business units: Aerospace and Maritime & Integrated Systems (M&IS).

Naval

BAE Systems inherited the project from Tenix Defence. On 22 October 2008, BAE Systems was selected to continue with the Royal Australian Navy's Guided Missile Frigate Maintenance Contract (FFG IMS). BAE Systems replaced the existing company

Thales Australia Thales Australia (formerly Australian Defence Industries and ADI Limited) is a defence contractor based in Australia. It is a subsidiary of the French defence technology conglomerate Thales Group. Thales Australia had been engaged in numerous pr ...

on 1 January 2009. This contract is expected to run until the last guided missile frigate () is decommissioned in 2021. BAE Systems' bid for work on the s was rejected in May 2009, when the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance subcontracted 70% of construction of the destroyers to

NQEA Australia NQEA Pty Ltd is an engineering and shipbuilding company based in Cairns, Australia. The company was founded in 1948 as an engineering supply company named North Queensland Engineers & Agents, then expanded in 1966 into shipbuilding and was rena ...

and the

Forgacs Group Forgacs Marine and Defence (Forgacs), former Forgacs Group, is a major Australian engineering and shipbuilding company. It has facilities at Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane and Gladstone. The company employs 1000 people. The Forgacs Group acquired ...

. However, on 29 June 2009, the work allocated to NQEA was transferred to BAE Systems Australia due to the former being unable to meet its financial obligations to the project. BAE Systems will build a total of 36 blocks for the three destroyers at its Williamstown shipyard. These are the hull machinery compartments, and bow and stern sections of the ships. BAE Systems was announced on 29 June 2018 as the preferred tenderer to build the s, through

ASC Shipbuilding ASC Shipbuilding, formerly the shipbuilding division of ASC Pty Ltd, is a subsidiary of BAE Systems Australia and will remain a subsidiary for the duration of the contract to build the ''Hunter'' class frigates. It was structurally separate ...

and building the nine ships in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Corporate and community

BAE Systems Australia is headquartered at

Edinburgh Parks Edinburgh is an outer northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Salisbury. The suburb was created in 1997, on land straddling Penfield and Salisbury, that was compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth Government in 1940 in ord ...

. the company employs approximately 4,000 people Australia-wide. BAE Systems Australia's partner charity since 2015 is Soldier On with whom they work to support the health, employment and rehabilitation of Australia's veterans, service personnel and their families.

References

External links

Official site of BAE Systems
{{Authority control BAE Systems subsidiaries and divisions Defence companies of Australia Manufacturing companies established in 1953 Manufacturing companies based in Adelaide Australian subsidiaries of foreign companies Aerospace companies of Australia