British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products.
BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. BAe, in turn, dates to the merger (1977, with two other firms) of British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) and Hawker Siddeley Aviation, both having been nationalized a year earlier owing to unprofitable financial situations. Through its BAe antecedents, BAE Systems carries the legacy of some 20 British aircraft firms (e.g., Bristol, Avro, Gloster, De Havilland, Supermarine), several dating to the first decades of flight. In the 1960s and early '70s, BAC and Hawker Siddeley each produced significant aircraft. BAC built the Vickers-Armstrongs VC10 and BAC One-Eleven jetliners and, in partnership with Aerospatiale of France, the Concorde supersonic transport. Hawker Siddeley developed the HS 121 Trident jetliner, Vulcan bomber, and Harrier vertical/short-takeoff-and-landing (V/STOL) fighter. In 1979 British Aerospace joined the Airbus Industrie jetliner-manufacturing consortium, and during the early 1980s it became privatized. In the 1990s it became a partner with firms in Germany, Italy, and Spain in the Eurofighter Typhoon program. It also joined a venture led by Lockheed Martin to develop the Joint Strike Fighter.