United Defense Industries (UDI) was an American defense contractor which became part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments after being acquired by

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 revenue ...

in 2005. The company produced combat vehicles,

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

naval gun Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes ...

missile launchers A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...

and precision munitions.

History

The company started as a division of the agricultural machine business,

Food Machinery Corporation FMC Corporation is an American chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which originated as an insecticide producer in 1883 and later diversified into other industries. In 1941 at the beginning of US involvemen ...

(FMC), when they won a

US Federal Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a f ...

contract to build the

Landing Vehicle Tracked The Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. (The USN and USMC use "L" to designate Amphibious vessels, also call ...

(LVT) and became a weapon manufacturer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Bowen McLaughlin York (BMY), which became the BMY division of Harsco Corporation, soon added aircraft and tanks to its growing munitions capability, further adding to the firm's diversified economic success and defense specialization. Following a massive decline in orders for tracked combat vehicles between 1983 and 1994 FMC and the Harsco Corporation agreed in January 1994 to combine their defense businesses to form United Defense. The new company owned the former FMC

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

-based Ground Systems Division and Harsco's

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

-based BMY Combat Systems Division. The new company restructured its operations to concentrate final assembly and testing to Pennsylvania.Defense Contractor Restructuring
. www.fas.org. Retrieved May 22, 2006 In September 2000, UDI purchased Bofors Weapon Systems AB of Sweden, subsequently renamed Bofors Defence. In 1997 UDI was subject to a takeover bids by rival General Dynamics and

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 ...

. It chose the lowest bid from private equity firm The Carlyle Group, which floated the company in 2001 but retained a share of the company.

BAE Systems acquisition

On March 7, 2005 UK-based defence contractor

announced it was to acquire UDI for US$3.974 billion (£2.1 billion). This followed expressions of interest from companies including

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military tech ...

. BAE Systems' bid was referred to the

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS, commonly pronounced "Cifius" ) is an inter-agency committee of the United States government that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments in U.S. companie ...

(CFIUS) to ensure there were no national security implications of the sale. The CFIUS granted approval of the deal in April 2005. BAE completed its acquisition of United Defense on June 24, 2005 and announced plans to merge the company with its existing land systems businesses to form BAE Systems Land and Armaments.

Products

United Defense products included: * Advanced Gun System (AGS) for next generation

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

surface combatants * Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles family of light armored ground vehicles * M2 Bradley

Infantry Fighting Vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed F ...

M3 Bradley The M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV) is an American tracked armored reconnaissance vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments (formerly United Defense). A member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family, the M3 CFV is used b ...

Cavalry fighting vehicle * M8 Armored Gun System, U.S. Army light tank canceled in 1996 * M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle * M109 Paladin * M113 family * Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light, a vehicle based on the M113 proposed for the U.S. Army Interim Armored Vehicle program * Crusader * Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) * 5-54 Mark 45 and 62 caliber lightweight naval gun * Anti-aircraft gun L60

References

External links

United Defense Industries websiteBAE Systems website
*IPO from CNN Money
United Defense raises $400M
*

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

BAE Systems to buy US rival UDIbusinesswire.com: CFIUS Approval for Proposed Acquisition by BAE Systems
{{BAE Systems Defense companies of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Virginia United Defense