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The name BAE Systems was created through the use of the historic acronym for British Aerospace (BAe) combined with the ‘Systems’ section of partner company Marconi Electronic Systems (Marconi Electronics remains a registered trademark of sectors of that business which were not incorporated under the terms of the merger).

Today, BAE Systems is a global company engaged in the development and delivery of advanced defence, aerospace, security and information technology systems in the air, on the land and at sea and it employs over 88,000 people worldwide.
As can be seen by the family tree above, BAE Systems has evolved from hundreds of well-known names throughout industry worldwide and can trace its root back to 1560 and the Royal Gunpowder Mills at Waltham Abbey.
In other sectors of this website we hope to represent the multi-faceted nature of our proud heritage but for the purposes of this section we concentrate on our unique place in aviation history.
Genealogy - Aviation
English Electric Aviation Limited | |
Vickers-Armstrongs Limited | |
Bristol Aircraft Limited | |
Hunting Aircraft Limited | |
1960 | British Aircraft Corporation |
1977 | British Aerospace |
1999 | BAE Systems |