United Defense Industries (UDI) was an American

defense contractor A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military or intelligence department of a government. Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and ...

which became part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments after being acquired by

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

in 2005. The company produced

combat vehicle A ground combat vehicle, also known as a land assault vehicle or simply a combat vehicle or an assault vehicle, is a land-based military vehicle intended to be used for combat operations. They differ from non-combat military vehicles such as M ...

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

naval gun Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for more specialized roles in surface warfare such as naval gunfire support (NGFS) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) engagements. T ...

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 i ...

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 of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

contract to build the

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

(LVT) and became a weapon manufacturer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1964, FMC broadened their defense business by purchasing Northern Ordnance Company (formerly Northern Pump Company) in Fridley, Minnesota which specialized in Naval shipboard guns and missile launchers. Bowen McLaughlin York (BMY), which became the BMY division of Harsco Corporation, was a separate business involving design and manufacture of various combat vehicles and other defense hardware. 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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based Ground Systems Division, the former FMC

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

-based Armament Systems Division and Harsco's

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

-based BMY Combat Systems Division. The new company restructured its operations to concentrate final assembly and testing of combat vehicles to Pennsylvania. 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 Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management. Carlyle specializes in ...

. 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 manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...

. 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, ) is an inter-agency committee in the United States government that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments in the U.S. economy. CFIUS, led by the U.S ...

(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 The Advanced Gun System (AGS) is a naval artillery system developed and produced by BAE Systems Armaments & Services for the ''Zumwalt''-class destroyer of the United States Navy. Designated the 155 mm/62 (6.1-inch) Mark 51 Advanced Gun Sy ...

(AGS) for next generation

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

surface combatants *

Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles The Manned Ground Vehicles (MGV) was a family of lighter and more transportable ground vehicles developed by Boeing and subcontractors BAE Systems and General Dynamics as part of the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The MGV program ...

family of light armored ground vehicles *

M2 Bradley The M2 Bradley, or Bradley IFV, is an American infantry fighting vehicle that is a member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle family. It is manufactured by BAE Systems Land & Armaments (formerly United Defense) and entered service in 1981, with fi ...

Infantry Fighting Vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...

M3 Bradley The M3 Bradley cavalry fighting vehicle (CFV) is an American tracked Armoured reconnaissance, armored reconnaissance vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems Platforms & Services (formerly United Defense). A member of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle ...

Cavalry fighting vehicle * M8 Armored Gun System, U.S. Army light tank canceled in 1996 * M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle *

M109 Paladin The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s to replace the M44 and M52. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common Western ...

M113 The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 APCs. The M113 was first used ...

family * Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light, a vehicle based on the M113 proposed for the U.S. Army

Interim Armored Vehicle The Interim Armored Vehicle (IAV), previously known as the Medium Armored Vehicle (MAV), was a U.S. Army armored fighting vehicle acquisition program. General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) and General Motors Defense proposed a vehicle based on the ...

program * Crusader * Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) * 5-54 Mark 45 and 62 caliber lightweight naval gun

References

{{reflist

External links

United Defense Industries website (archived version)BAE 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 broad ...

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