European Aeronautic Defence And Space Company History And

EADS was formed by its member companies in July 2000, to become the world's second largest aerospace company (after BoeingThe Boeing Company ( NYSE:BA) is a leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with its largest production facilities near Seattle, Washington. It is also a defense contractor. It is listed on the New York Sto). EADS is also the second-largest European arms manufacturer (after BAE SYSTEMSSentry Upgrade BAE SYSTEMS is a multinational defence products manufacturer. History It was formed on November 30, 1999 with the merger of British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems, which was made up of several divisions of GEC-Marconi in the UK an.) The company develops and markets civil and military aircraft, as well as missiles, space rockets, and related systems.

In November 2003, EADS announced that it was considering working with Japanese companies, and the Japanese METIThe Ministry of International Trade and Industry ( Tsūsho-sangyō-shō or MITI) was the single most powerful agency in the Japanese government during the 1950s and 1960s. At the height of its influence, it ran Japan as a centrally-manage, to develop a hypersonicThis article is about hypersonic speeds in aerodynamics. For the laptop brand, see Hypersonic (laptop). In aerodynamics, hypersonic speeds are speeds that are highly supersonic. In the 1970s the term generally came to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above. airlinerAn airliner is a type of aircraft initially designed for the transportation of paying passengers. There may be variants developed for air freight, military or luxury corporate use. Occasionally the military version precedes the civilian airliner. Examples intended to be a larger, faster, and quieter, replacement for the ConcordeThe Aerospatiale- BAC Concorde supersonic transport (SST) was one of only two supersonic passenger airliners to have seen commercial service. Concorde had a cruising speed of Mach 2. 04 and a cruise altitude of 56,000 feet ( 17,000 metres) with a delta wi, which was retired in October the same year.

EADS is a major contributor to the International Space StationOverview Continuing on from the United States' Skylab and Russia's Mir, the International Space Station ISS represents a permanent human presence in space: it has been manned with a crew of at least two since November 2, 2000. Each time that the crew is r, and is expected to deliver the Columbus Laboratory Module in 2004 through its subdivision EADS SPACE Transportation.

2 Subdivisions

Airbus Industrie
EADS owns 80% of Airbus in a joint ownership with BAE Systems which owns the remaining 20% (May 2004))
Military Transport Aircraft
- Shareholder in Airbus Military, developer and manufacturer-to-be of the A400M – competitor to Lockheed Martin's Hercules
- Airbus military applications – e.g. A310 MRTT and A330 MRTT conversions
Aeronautics
EADS SPACE
- 100% shareholder in satellite company EADS Astrium (after buying out BAE Systems' 25% stake on January 30, 2003)
- 100% shareholder in EADS SPACE Transportation, responsible for the Ariane launchers and orbital systems such as the Columbus orbital facility.
- 100% shareholder in EADS SPACE Services , formed mostly from Paradigm Secure Communications Ltd, a defense satellite operator for the UK MoD (operating the Skynet 5 system)
- 28% shareholder in space transport operator Arianespace (largest commercial shareholder)
Defence and Security Systems
- Defence Electronics, the sensors and avionics house of EADS
- Military Aircraft, including products such as the Mako/HEAT, and stakes in the following companies:
  - Dassault Aviation (45.76%), manufacturer of fighters and other military aircraft
  - Eurofighter GmbH (46%), manufacturer of Eurofighter Typhoon.
  - Eurocopter Group (100% ownership), manufacturer of light and medium civil and military helicopters
- Missiles
  - MBDA (37,5%)
  - LFK
- Defence and Communications Systems, system house
- Services

3 Shareholders (July 2004)

Publicly traded 34.3% ( Paris stock exchange, Frankfurt stock exchange, Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona and Valencia stock exchanges)
DaimlerChrysler 30.1%
SOGEADE 30.1% (50% French government body, SOGEPA and 50% Désirade)
SEPI 5.5% (Spanish state holding company)

On July 17 2004 The Economist reported that the three major shareholders, DaimlerChrysler, SOGEADE and SEPI, intend to sell their shares by 2006–2007. DaimlerChrysler would like extra capital to invest in its core activities, the Lagardère Group (controls Désirade) wants to withdraw from defence aerospace, and the French government is pursuing privatisation where appropriate.

EADS, seen very much as a European, rather than global, company by America would benefit from increased ownership by that country's major investors. This, and an increased manufacturing presence in North America would increase the prospects of orders from the DoD, a position BAE Systems already enjoys.

4 Criticism

Like any large industrial conglomerate which manufactures weaponry, EADS has been subjected to criticism. Alleged wrongdoings include:

The delivery of weapons to non-NATO countries without due consideration for the political situation and the economic consequences and to countries where there is an arms race going on
Using bribes in order to further sales in South Africa

5 See also

European defence procurement

6 External links

Corporate website
EADS Defence Electronics
Firm considers 'son of Concorde' – BBC News, 23 November 2003

Aerospace companies International aircraft manufacturers Aircraft engine manufacturers

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1 History and activities