BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is one of the largest defence contractors in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of

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 ...

in 2007 and Tenix Defence in June 2008.

History

BAE Systems' Australian heritage dates back to testing of the first generation air defence missile systems at the Woomera Test Range in the early 1950s. Weapons testing at Woomera began in 1953 by the

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...

and the English Electric Company. Both companies merged to become the

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 19 ...

(BAC). In 1977, BAC was nationalised and operations in Australia were renamed

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 ...

Australia. British Aerospace Australia doubled in size in April 1996 with the purchase of AWA Defence Industries (AWADI). AWADI was formed in October 1988 by the merger of the defence electronics business of AWA Ltd, Thorn EMI Electronics Australia and Fairey Australasia. BAE Systems was formed on 30 November 1999, following the merger of British Aerospace with the

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...

's (GEC) defence arm, Marconi Electronic Systems. BAE Systems Australia expanded with its parent company's acquisition of

in 2007 and doubled in size with the purchase of Tenix Defence in June 2008.

Products and services

BAE Systems Australia provides many products and services to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) including: Fast Jet support, Military Flight Training, Autonomous Systems, Guided Weapons (naval air defence) and Communications, Command & Support. BAE Systems Australia operates two business units: Aerospace and Maritime & Integrated Systems (M&IS).

Naval

BAE Systems inherited the project from Tenix Defence. On 22 October 2008, BAE Systems was selected to continue with the Royal Australian Navy's Guided Missile Frigate Maintenance Contract (FFG IMS). BAE Systems replaced the existing company Thales Australia on 1 January 2009. This contract is expected to run until the last guided missile frigate () is decommissioned in 2021. BAE Systems' bid for work on the s was rejected in May 2009, when the Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance subcontracted 70% of construction of the destroyers to

NQEA Australia NQEA Pty Ltd is an engineering and shipbuilding company based in Cairns, Australia. The company was founded in 1948 as an engineering supply company named North Queensland Engineers & Agents, then expanded in 1966 into shipbuilding and was renam ...

and the

Forgacs Group Forgacs Marine and Defence (Forgacs), former Forgacs Group, is a major Australian engineering and shipbuilding company. It has facilities at Newcastle, Sydney, Brisbane and Gladstone. The company employs 1000 people. The Forgacs Group acquired ...

. However, on 29 June 2009, the work allocated to NQEA was transferred to BAE Systems Australia due to the former being unable to meet its financial obligations to the project. BAE Systems will build a total of 36 blocks for the three destroyers at its Williamstown shipyard. These are the hull machinery compartments, and bow and stern sections of the ships. BAE Systems was announced on 29 June 2018 as the preferred tenderer to build the s, through ASC Shipbuilding and building the nine ships in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

Corporate and community

BAE Systems Australia is headquartered at

Edinburgh Parks Edinburgh is an outer northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Salisbury. The suburb was created in 1997, on land straddling Penfield and Salisbury, that was compulsorily acquired by the Commonwealth Government in 1940 in or ...

. the company employs approximately 4,000 people Australia-wide. BAE Systems Australia's partner charity since 2015 is Soldier On with whom they work to support the health, employment and rehabilitation of Australia's veterans, service personnel and their families.

References

External links

Official site of BAE Systems
{{Authority control BAE Systems subsidiaries and divisions Defence companies of Australia Manufacturing companies established in 1953 Manufacturing companies based in Adelaide Australian subsidiaries of foreign companies Aerospace companies of Australia