BAE Systems Avionics was the

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...

unit of

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

until 2005, at which time it was transferred to SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems S.p.A. (initially 75%

Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian Multinational corporation, multinational company specialising in Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, arms industry, defence and Information security, securi ...

and 25% BAE Systems, but since March 2007 fully owned by Finmeccanica). Selex S&AS became SELEX Galileo in 2008 and from January 2013 (following a merger with other Finmeccanica companies

SELEX Sistemi Integrati SELEX Sistemi Integrati S.p.A. was an aerospace, defence and security-related electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Rome, Italy and a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica. It designed and developed systems for homeland security; sy ...

and Selex Elsag) traded as

Selex ES Selex ES was a subsidiary of Finmeccanica S.p.A., active in the electronics and information technology business, based in Italy and the UK, and formed in January 2013, following Finmeccanica's decision to combine its existing SELEX Elsag and ...

. It then merged into Leonardo S.p.A.'s land and naval defence electronics division on 1 January 2016. The business had its UK headquarters in

Basildon Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159. It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

BAE Systems Avionics has a rich heritage which dates back to 1909 when the Elliott and Marconi companies began to fit aircraft with systems (beginning with embryonic air to ground communications). By 1913 Elliot's avionics product lines advanced to

gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...

s, weapon sights and

altimeter An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...

Timeline

*1804 - William Elliott establishes a company manufacturing scientific and surveying instruments. *1853 - Company renamed Elliott Brothers Ltd. *1897 -

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...

founds his company. *1909 - Elliott Brothers and Marconi companies both begin to fit avionics to early aircraft. *1946 - Marconi is acquired by

English Electric 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 ...

. *1967 - English Electric and

Elliott Automation Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd was an early computer company of the 1950s–60s in the United Kingdom. It traced its descent from a firm of instrument makers founded by William Elliott (instrument maker), William Elliott (1780 or 1781-1853) in ...

merge. *1968 - The new English Electric group is acquired by GEC. *1969 - GEC renames avionics business Marconi-Elliott Avionics Systems Limited, part of the company's defence arm, GEC-Marconi. *1978 - Renamed Marconi Avionics Limited. *1984 - Renamed GEC Avionics Limited. *1990 - Take-over of

Ferranti Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm was known ...

creating GEC Ferranti *1998 - Renamed Marconi Avionics, part of the renamed 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 ...

(MES). *1999 - MES merged with

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 ...

to form BAE Systems. Avionics business becomes BAE Systems Avionics. *2005 - BAE Systems Avionics merged with Galileo Avionica to form SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems. *2008 - SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems is re-branded SELEX Galileo. *2013 - SELEX Galileo merged with

and Selex Elsag to form

. *2016 - Selex ES activities became part of Leonardo’s land and naval defence electronics division

References

{{Reflist

Sources

''The Changing World of Avionics''
G.M. Barling. GEC Review, Vol. 6 1990
Elliott early history
Aircraft component manufacturers of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1969 Avionics companies BAE Systems subsidiaries and divisions Borough of Basildon Companies based in Essex Defence companies of the United Kingdom Defunct companies of the United Kingdom Electronics companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies established in 1969 Science and technology in Essex