BAE Systems Platforms & Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of

BAE Systems Inc. BAE Systems Inc. (formerly BAE Systems North America) is an American subsidiary of British defense, security, and aerospace company BAE Systems plc. The American subsidiary operates under a Special Security Agreement which allows it to work o ...

and is a large provider of tracked and wheeled armored combat vehicles, naval guns, naval ship repair and modernization, artillery and missile launching systems, advanced precision strike munitions and ordnance, and other technologies for U.S. and international customers. It was created on 24 June 2005, following the completion of BAE Systems' acquisition of

United Defense United Defense Industries (UDI) was an American defense contractor which became part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments after being acquired by BAE Systems in 2005. The company produced combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and ...

in 2004 and its merger with BAE Systems Land Systems. In 2007 BAE Systems acquired

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 ...

adding to the size of Land & Armaments significantly. Until April 2003 BAE Systems was a relatively small player in the land systems industry. As a result of the 2004 purchase of

Alvis Vickers Alvis PLC was created when United Scientific Holdings plc acquired the Alvis division of the nationalised vehicle manufacturer British Leyland in 1981. United Scientific maintained its own name until 1992 when the group was renamed Alvis plc ...

, the aforementioned 2004 acquisition of

, and the acquisition of

in 2007, it is now one of the largest land systems defence contractors in the world.

History

BAE Systems was formed in 1999 by the merger of

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 ...

(BAe) and

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 ...

(MES). BAe's land systems business was

RO Defence BAE Systems Platforms & Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems Inc. and is a large provider of tracked and wheeled armored combat vehicles, naval guns, naval ship repair and modernization, artillery and missile launching systems, a ...

, a major manufacturer of explosives, ammunition and small arms. MES owned

Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Ltd (VSEL) was a shipbuilding company based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in northwest England that built warships, civilian ships, submarines and armaments. The company was historically the Naval Constructi ...

, manufacturer of the

M777 howitzer The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the US w ...

. In June 2003, BAE Systems outbid General Dynamics for

Alvis plc Alvis PLC was created when United Scientific Holdings plc acquired the Alvis division of the nationalised vehicle manufacturer British Leyland in 1981. United Scientific maintained its own name until 1992 when the group was renamed Alvis plc ...

, the UK's principal land systems business. What had seemed a certain win for the US company was stopped by BAE Systems' surprise move. It has been seen as an attempt to keep such a strong competitor at bay in BAE Systems' "backyard." Alvis and BAE RO Defence were merged as BAE Systems Land Systems. When

Dick Olver Sir Richard Lake Olver FREng (born 2 January 1947) was the chairman of BAE Systems, one of the world's largest defence contractors. Biography Early life Richard Olver was born on 2 January 1947. He studied at City University London, where he ga ...

was appointed chairman of BAE Systems in July 2003 he ordered a review of the company's businesses which confirmed the attractiveness of the land systems sector. This shift in strategy was described as "remarkable" by the ''Financial Times''. In March 2005, BAE Systems announced the $3.174 billion acquisition of United Defense Industries (UDI). UDI, a major competitor to General Dynamics, was primarily a land systems manufacturer, boosting BAE Systems' involvement in this sector and its sales in the important North American market. UDI manufactured combat vehicles, artillery systems, naval guns, missile launchers and precision guided munitions. BAE Systems Land and Armaments was formed in June 2004 in a reorganisation of BAE's businesses. Land and Armaments, headquartered in the United States as part of

, took control of BAE's existing land systems businesses. Land and Armaments has received regular contracts for the "reset" of Bradley armoured fighting vehicles. By August of the 2006 financial year BAE had received contracts totalling $477.9 million. In July 2008 BAE failed to win the $1.06 billion

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP; ) is a term for United States Armed Forces, United States military light tactical vehicles produced as part of the MRAP program that are designed specifically to withstand improvised explosive device (IE ...

All Terrain Vehicle (

M-ATV The Oshkosh M-ATV is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle developed by the Oshkosh Corporation for the MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) program. Intended to replace M1114 HMMWVs (Humvee), it is designed to provide the same levels of p ...

) contract which will see 7,244 vehicles produced for the US Marine Corps. In September 2009 BAE lost a larger contract, the first stage of a multibillion-dollar follow-on order for up to 23,542 trucks as part of the

Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles The Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) is a series of military vehicles that are based on a common chassis and vary by payload and mission requirements. The FMTV is derived from the Austrian Steyr 12M18 truck, but substantially m ...

programme. Despite a successful appeal forcing the US Army to reevaluate the bids,

Oshkosh Corporation Oshkosh Corporation, formerly Oshkosh Truck, is an American industrial company that designs and builds specialty trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies, airport fire apparatus, and access equipment. The corporation also owns Pierce Manufact ...

was confirmed as the winner of the £2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) contract in February 2010. BAE announced a £592 million

writedown A write-off is a reduction of the recognized value of something. In accounting, this is a recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, this is a reduction of taxable income, as a recognition of certain expenses ...

of the former Armor Holdings business as a result.

Organization

Global Tactical Systems

Global Tactical Systems (GTS) was formed from the merger of Mobility & Protection Systems' Medium/Heavy Vehicle business (formerly Armor Holdings) and the

BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa is a South African defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land Systems, itself part of BAE Systems Land and Armaments. Land Systems South Africa is organised into three divisions: Land Systems OM ...

businesses.

US Combat Systems

The former United Defense business, BAE's US Combat Systems produces fighting vehicle platforms and armaments.

Global Combat Systems

Global Combat Systems (GCS) was formed on 1 February 2009 by the merger of BAE Systems' Land Systems Weapons & Vehicles, Land Systems (Munitions & Ordnance) Ltd and BAE Systems AB in Sweden. It also has a 50/50 joint venture with

Nexter Nexter Systems (formerly known as GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, based in Roanne, Loire. Group organization The Nexter group is ...

(formerly GIAT),

CTA International CTA International is an equal-shares joint venture company between defence companies Nexter and BAE Systems. CTAI is based in Bourges, France, and has been established to develop and manufacture case telescoped weapons and ammunition. The compa ...

, which is located in Bourges, France.

GCS Munitions

= Sector history

= Upon its creation on 2 January 1985, Royal Ordnance plc owned the twelve Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) that remained open, plus the Waltham Abbey South site, RSAF Enfield and three Agency Factories. Several factors delayed the intended privatisation until 22 April 1987, when British Aerospace purchased the company. In 1999 British Aerospace merged with

, the defence interests of GEC to form BAE Systems. In 2002 Heckler & Koch was sold to Heckler and Koch Beteiligungs GmbH. In 2004 BAE Systems acquired

which was merged with the RO Defence business and ex-GEC plants at

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

and

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

to form BAE Systems Land Systems. RO Defence was renamed BAE Systems Land Systems (Munitions and Ordnance). In 2005 BAE Systems acquired the US company

and merged it with the Land Systems business to create BAE Systems Land and Armaments. The former RO Defence business was renamed BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions. In February 2009, it was merged into GCS as Global Combat Systems Munitions.

= Products

= GCS Munitions manufactures 4.6×30mm,

5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and ...

and

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...

small arms ammunition, mortars, and land and sea artillery ammunition. It also produces explosives, guidance kits, propellants, demolition charges, initiators, pyrotechnics, and warheads for missiles, torpedoes and depth charges. These include the

BROACH The BROACH warhead is a Tandem-charge, multi-stage warhead developed by Team BROACH; BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Munitions, Thales Missile Electronics and QinetiQ. BROACH stands for ''Bomb Royal Ordnance Augmented CHarge''. Development of ...

multi-stage warhead produced in partnership with

Thales Missile Electronics Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Paris' ...

and QinetiQ.

GCS Weapons

Manufactures "intelligent ammunition, artillery systems, combat vehicle turrets, naval gun and air defence gun systems." Examples include the

GCS Vehicles

Global Combat Systems Vehicles produces and supports main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armoured engineer vehicles, armoured all-terrain vehicles and military bridging vehicles. Examples include the

Challenger 2 The FV4034 Challenger 2 (MOD designation "CR2") is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. It was designed and built by the British company Vickers Defence Systems (now known as ...

main battle tank and the

CV90 The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90; Sw. ''Stridsfordon'' 90, Strf90) is a family of Swedish tracked combat vehicles designed by Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (''Försvarets Materielverk'', FMV), Hägglunds and Bofors during the mid-1980s to ear ...

infantry fighting vehicle family.

Security & Survivability

Security and Survivability (S&S) consists of 3 Functional Areas: Platform Survivability (PS), Individual Protection Systems (IPS) and Advanced Materials. Platform Survivability Product lines include armored,

crashworthy Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different crit ...

, and armored-crashworthy seating for aerospace products along with mineblast attenuating seats for vehicles. IPS produces individual small arms and fragmentation protection solutions, such as ESAPI and XSAPI armor, mostly for

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

customers. In July 2010, it was announced that Security and Survivability would cease to exist on 1 January 2011. The functional areas of S&S will be assigned to Global Tactical Systems (GTS) or the

BAE Systems Products Group 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 ...

Support Solutions

BAE's Support Solutions provides support of the US Navy's

Aegis combat system The Aegis Combat System is an American integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and it is now produced by Lockheed Martin. Initially used by the United States Navy, Aegis is now used also by t ...

and "prime systems integration" for the US and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

submarine fleet ballistic missile systems. BAE Systems Ship Repair of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

Contact Us – BAE Systems
/ref> is a major non-nuclear ship repair business in the United States, formerly known as United States Marine Repair. The company's primary customer is the United States Navy, other customers include other branches of the US military and commercial cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean. USMR had acquired Norfolk Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company (NORSHIPCO) in 1998. In 2004 USMR purchased Honolulu Shipyard Inc. (HSI) for $16 million. HSI was another U.S. Navy ship repair business. USMR was owned by the

Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

who planned to float the company but instead chose to sell it to

(which it partially owned) in May 2002. BAE acquired the latter in 2005. The seven shipyards are Norfolk, San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, San Diego, Mobile, Mayport and Jacksonville.

Management

Bob Murphy was named president of BAE Systems Land & Armaments Operating Group in November 2009 after

Linda Hudson Linda Parker Hudson is an American businesswoman, currently the Chairman & CEO of The Cardea Group and former President and CEO of BAE Systems Inc. and Chief Operating Officer, BAE Systems plc. In her role at BAE Systems Inc., Hudson is the first ...

was promoted to president and CEO of BAE Systems Inc. Tom Rabaut was named president of the newly created BAE Systems Land and Armaments, having previously been chief executive officer (CEO) and president of United Defense since January 1994. Rabaut retired in January 2007 and was succeeded by Linda Hudson. Hudson has led General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products and held senior management positions at

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

Martin Marietta The Martin Marietta Corporation was an American company founded in 1961 through the merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation. In 1995, it merged with Lockheed Corporation to form Lockheed Martin. History Martin Mari ...

Ford Aerospace Ford Aerospace was the aerospace and defense division of Ford Motor Company. It was based in Dearborn, Michigan and was active from 1956 (originally as Philco and then Philco Ford) through 1990, when it was sold to the Loral Corporation. Major div ...

, and Harris Corp.

References

External links

* BAE Systems Inc
Businesses
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bae Systems Land And Armaments Defense companies of the United States BAE Systems subsidiaries and divisions Ammunition manufacturers Military vehicle manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Virginia Companies based in Arlington County, Virginia American companies established in 2005 Manufacturing companies established in 2005 2005 establishments in Virginia