30 November 1999: BAE Systems formed in £7.7bn merger

BAE Systems stand on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 — (Image credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

When thinking of international business successes, it's unlikely that the name “Marconi” is in anyone's mind. After all, Marconi Plc, the telecoms company and successor to GEC, imploded spectacularly after the dot-com bubble, after a series of disastrous management decisions. But there was another Marconi – Marconi Electronic Systems – that had been spun off from GEC and went on to form half of one of the world's biggest arms manufacturers (or defence companies, if you prefer).

The last years of the 20th century saw huge consolidation in the defence industry. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged, and Lockheed Martin was formed by the merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta. Europe had designs on a consolidated defence company of its own, which eventually became EADS, then Airbus.

Britain was not to be left out. We had our own defence and aerospace companies in British Aerospace (BAe), which, as the name implied, built planes. Marconi built radar and other electronic systems for the space and naval sectors. BAe was considering a merger with Germany's Daimler Chrysler Aerospace. But when GEC put Marconi up for sale, BAe feared it would be acquired by a US company and pose a threat.

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And so on this day in 1999, British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merged, in a £7.7bn deal, and BAE Systems was formed. It makes everything from fighter jets to tanks and warships and became Europe's biggest defence company.

Sales have risen by over 12% for the company in 2024, while its current order book amounts to £25billion.

Among world arms companies it is the seventh biggest in terms of sales, according to Defence News. It falls behind Lockheed Martin, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and Boeing.