The Business Environment – British Aerospace Engineering System Operating Environment
British Aerospace Engineering Systems (BAE Sys) is a global company primarily tasked with the design and manufacture of advanced defence systems and solutions. Their products focus not only on combat equipment but also technologies focussed on logistical and tactical support. The company are currently contracted to build the Royal Navy’s new Astute Class Submarine as well as the next generation surface fleet vessels consisting of the Type 45 Destroyer and two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers (Royal Navy, 2008). They have also been instrumental in the design and construction of the next generation of combat aircraft including the iconic Eurofighter Typhoon and the STVOL F-35 Lightning which will replace the Harrier when it comes into service. British Aerospace have been created or contributed technology towards the majority of the modern military equipment in use in the both the European and American armed forced as well as a large proportion of equipment supplied to the country’s allies in the middle east. The company employs 96,000 highly skilled employees with a heritage and tradition stretching back to the formation of the Royal Gunpowder factory in 1560; during the industrial revolution the company expanded into shipbuilding creating shipyards which are still in use today. At the outbreak of the second and first world wars the company created iconic and revolutionary equipment such as the Vickers Machine gun and the Supermarine Spitfire. In the post war period BAE created in collaboration with others many other recognisable products such as the de Havilland Comet (the world’s first commercial airliner) and the Concorde (the first supersonic commercial airliner).