NEW EADS UNIT OPERTIONAL IN JULY – THALES DEAL BECKONS?
27 May 03. The new EADS Defence & Security Systems Division will start its operational business as of 1 July 2003. The Board of Directors of EADS, the second-largest global aerospace and defence company, has approved the new organizational structure of the enlarged Defence Division. With the merger of its defence electronics, military aircraft and telecommunications activities, EADS is strengthening its defence business to better meet the needs of customers requiring integrated defence and security technology.
Key elements of the new organization are the integration of the military fighter aircraft activities and the merger of the currently existing Business Units EADS Telecom and the systems part of EADS Systems & Defence Electronics. The new Business Unit EADS Defence & Communication Systems will be the EADS system house for the whole C4ISR chain, naval and air defence systems, manned and unmanned airborne mission systems and secure communication systems. It will create a competence centre for systems design and new capacities for concept development, simulation and experimentation to develop new and innovative system solutions.
The new Business Unit EADS Defence Electronics is the hub for the sensor, electronics and mission avionics business in EADS. It provides mission critical elements to the airborne systems and air defence offerings of EADS.
EADS Military Aircraft as the national leader in all military aircraft activities, in particular the Eurofighter and other combat and trainer aircraft programmes in Germany and Spain will benefit from the optimised integration and interoperability through the grouping under the same roof together with Electronics, Missiles (MBDA/LFK) and the “System House”. The new organisation will also have a strong impact on the development of future Eurofighter enhancements and the perspectives for major new programmes like the Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) and dedicated studies in an advanced netcentric operations environment.
EADS Services, within a Division having a broader portfolio, will gain further strength to develop and control fast-growing business opportunities in the market of outsourced defence services.
“This is an important strategic move to make EADS an even stronger force in the global defence market. EADS Defence & Security Systems will build critical mass in an integral business focus of EADS. This strategic decision to consolidate complimentary business fields that are working on integrated systems and those that design and build platforms allows EADS to become a driver of future technological developments in a changing defence business,” said EADS CEOs Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich.
Tom Enders (44) has been appointed as CEO of the new Division. With nearly 24,000 employees in nine countries, the division, headquartered in Munich, will produce revenues of more than € 5 bn in 2003, mostly in its home markets Germany, France, Britain and Spain. EADS maintains additional defence business in Airbus, Aeronautics, Military Transport Aircraft and Space Divisions. The consolidated EADS defence revenues in 2003 are expected to be well above € 6 bn.
“We are focused on supporting the transformation of our military customers by strengthening our capabilities for the development of innovative and complex concepts such as network centric operations and for large system integration,” Tom Enders said. “We are improving cross-business unit cooperation and we will leverage efficiency synergies within the division. Not only does this benefit our customers, but it should allow the new Division to be also a leaner and more profitable part of EADS.”
The new Division has the following structure:
The Heads of the Business Units are:
* MBDA Marwan Lahoud (37)
* EADS LFK Werner Kaltenegger (52)
* EADS Defence Electronics Johann Heitzmann (49)
* EADS Military Aircr