GE Aviation Systems (formerly Smiths Aerospace) is an American

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

aircraft engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years ma ...

and

aircraft parts An aircraft part is an article or component approved for installation on a type-certificated aircraft. Approval for these parts is derived from the jurisdictions of the countries that an aircraft is based. In the United States, the Federal Aviatio ...

manufacturer. Smiths Aerospace was formerly one of four business units of Smiths Group plc., an engineering company and constituent of the

FTSE 100 The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest market ...

share index. However, it was announced on January 15, 2007 that Smiths Group was divesting Smiths Aerospace to General Electric for US $4.8 billion.Smiths To Sell Aerospace Ops To GE For $4.8B
" McGrath, S.; Stone, R. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''. January 15, 2007. Smiths Aerospace, which was an important supplier, became an operating subsidiary of

GE Aviation GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric, is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. GE Aviation is among the top aircraft engine suppliers, and offers engines for the majority of commercial aircraft. GE Aviation is part of t ...

. This acquisition reportedly gives the combined unit the clout to resist pricing pressures from its two largest customers, Boeing Commercial Airplanes and

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

. Analysts further assert that it will enable General Electric to acquire assets similar to those it desired in its failed bid for

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

in 2000. GE Aviation completed the transaction on May 4, 2007.GE Aviation Completes Acquisition of Smiths Aerospace
." Smiths Aerospace press release. May 4, 2007.

Products

* Its electronic and mechanical systems businesses include integrated modular avionics, flight management and stores management systems, recording and analyzing of voice, video and data. Crew information and mission planning. Other products include power generation and distribution, fuel gauging, management and aerial refueling systems and environmental conditioning. Systems essential to aircraft performance includes flight controls, thrust reversers, landing gear and hydraulic systems. * The engine component capabilities include engine ring technology, supplying complex gas turbine engine components to every major engine program worldwide. * The company also operates a global customer services organization that supports 1,500 customers in 140 countries through a network of local centers. The company is involved with

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

's KC-767Boeing Unveils Air Force Tanker In $40 Billion Contract Competition
" Borak, D.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

. February 12, 2007. and

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...

, Lockheed Martin's

F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...

, and

C-130J Hercules The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is the newest v ...

, and the

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

. Smiths engine components equip many major military and civil gas

turbine engine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

s, providing critical technologies from intake to exhaust.

History

Smiths Aerospace was initially formed from the takeover of

TI Group TI Group plc (formerly "Tube Investments") was a holding company for specialised engineering companies. It was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It was registered as ''Tube Investments'' in 1919, combining the seamless steel tube businesses of T ...

's aerospace activities, including firms such as

Dowty Rotol Dowty Propellers is a British engineering company based in Brockworth, Gloucestershire that specialises in the manufacture, repair and overhaul of propellers and propeller components for customers around the world. It is owned by General Elect ...

. In 2000, they acquired the former electronics and avionics division of Fairchild Defense from Orbital Sciences corporation.http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=2710 Orbital Sciences press release. September 27, 2000.

References

{{Smiths Group Avionics companies Manufacturing companies based in Cincinnati Aerospace companies of the United States Engineering companies of the United States General Electric subsidiaries 2007 mergers and acquisitions