Editing Aérospatiale (section)

==History==
===Formation===
[[File:Boulevard de Montmorency, 37.jpg|thumb|Former head office on the Boulevard de Montmorency]]
In 1970, ''Aérospatiale'' was created under the name Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale as a result of the merger of several French state-owned companies - [[Sud Aviation]], [[Nord Aviation]] and [[Société d'étude et de réalisation d'engins balistiques]] (SEREB). The newly formed entity was the largest aerospace company in France. From the onset, the French government owned a controlling stake in Aérospatiale; at one stage, a 97 per cent ownership of the company was held by the government.<ref name = "cent aero">[https://www.centennialofflight.net/essay/Aerospace/Sud/Aero48.htm "Sud Aviation and Aérospatiale."] ''centennialofflight.net'', Retrieved: 19 February 2018.</ref>

In 1971, Aérospatiale was managed by the French industrialist [[Henri Ziegler]]; that same year, the firm's North American marketing and sales arm, which had previously operated under the trading name of the ''French Aerospace Corporation'', was officially rebranded as the ''European Aerospace Corporation'', which was intended to better reflect Aérospatiale's increasing focus on collaborative efforts with its European partners.<ref>{{cite journal |title=none |journal=Air Progress |date=September 1971 |page=16}}</ref>

===Major activities===
Many of Aérospatiale's initial programmes were holdovers from its predecessors, particularly those of Sud Aviation.<ref name = "cent aero"/> Perhaps the most high-profile of these programmes was [[Concorde]], a joint French-British attempt to develop and market a [[supersonic]] commercial airliner. Initial work on this project had begun at Sud Aviation and the [[Bristol Aeroplane Company]], its British counterpart.<ref name = "cent aero"/> The engines for Concorde were also developed as a joint Anglo-French effort between [[SNECMA]] and [[Bristol Siddeley]]. However, the programme was highly politicised and encountered considerable cost overruns and delays.<ref name = "cent aero"/> Ultimately, it was negatively affected equally by bad political decisions and an [[1970s energy crisis|oil crisis]] in the 1970s; thus, only two airlines purchased Concorde.<ref name = "cent aero"/>

Aérospatiale's senior management were keen to avoid the mistakes of the  Concorde program.<ref name = "cent aero"/> Their next major effort would be a transnational consortium with [[British Aerospace]] and the [[West German]]'s aircraft company [[Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm]] (MBB). The British would eventually withdraw from the discussions, but the French and West Germans would proceed and form Airbus Industrie GIE. It was established with the purpose of building a twin-engined [[widebody]] airliner, known as the [[Airbus A300|A300]].<ref name = "cent aero"/> At first, it was difficult to achieve sales and the outlook for the A300 seemed negative. However, Aérospatiale continued to manufacture the airliner without orders, as it could not reasonably cut back production as French law required that laid-off employees were to receive 90 per cent of their pay for a year as well as to retain their health benefits throughout.<ref name = "cent aero"/>

Sales of the A300 picked up and the type eventually became a major commercial success, subsequently driving both the [[United States|American]] [[Lockheed L-1011]] and the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]] from the market due to its cheaper operating model.<ref name = "cent aero"/> On the back of this success, further airliners would be produced under the Airbus brand and the company would become a world leader in the field of large commercial aircraft during the 1990s.<ref name = "cent aero"/>

Aérospatiale played a leading role in the development of the European space sector.<ref name = "cent aero"/> During the 1960s, Sud Aviation had been involved in a multinational European programme to produce the [[Europa (rocket)|Europa]] space launch vehicle, this being a three-stage rocket with the separate stages being manufactured in Britain, France, and Germany respectively. However, all of the flight tests conducted were failures; the programme's misfortune has been attributed to there being no central authority responsible for operations. This came as a result of the issue of workshare becoming highly politicized.

When Aérospatiale stepped in, in 1973, it was determined not to repeat the mistakes of Europa.<ref name = "cent aero"/> The company proposed to build a new heavy launch vehicle, which would later be called the Ariane, to take the place of Europa. While other European nations were invited to participate, it would be French officials who would hold primary responsibility, and thus, make the most important decisions.<ref name = "cent aero"/> This approach was agreed upon with several other nations; during 1979.

Ariane was an immediate success, allowing the French to gain a strong advantage over the United States, which had centred its efforts on the Space Shuttle. However, the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|''Challenger'' disaster]] during 1986 showed that it was too complex for routine use as a satellite launch platform.<ref name = "cent aero"/> Aérospatiale went on to develop more capable versions of the Ariane, which took much of the business of space launches away from the Americans during the 1990s.<ref name = "cent aero"/>

===Privatisation and mergers===
In 1992, Aérospatiale and the German defense company [[DaimlerChrysler Aerospace|DaimlerBenz Aerospace AG]] (DASA) combined their respective helicopter divisions together to form the [[Eurocopter Group]]; ownership of this new entity was shared (70% and 30% respectively) between the two parent companies.<ref>[http://www.airbushelicopters.com/w1/jrotor/83/docs/all.pdf "A Bit of History: American Eurocopter’s Growth over the Decades."] ''Rotor Journal'', No. 83. October/November 2009. p. 33.</ref>

During the late 1990s, [[Prime Minister of France|French Prime Minister]] [[Lionel Jospin]]'s [[Plural Left]] government initiated a policy towards the [[privatization]] of Aérospatiale.<ref>Godsmark, Chris and John Lichfield. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/airbus-set-for-privatisation-as-france-abandons-objection-1247827.html "Airbus set for privatisation as France abandons objection."] ''[[The Independent]]'', 28 August 1997.</ref><ref>[http://discours.vie-publique.fr/notices/993002629.html "Déclaration de M. Lionel Jospin, Premier ministre, sur le regroupement d'Aérospatiale-Matra et de Dasa et sur son importance pour la construction européenne dans les domaines de l'aéronautique civile et militaire, Strasbourg le 14 octobre 1999."] ''discours.vie-publique.fr'', 14 October 1999.</ref> In 1999, the majority of Aérospatiale, except for the satellites activities, merged with French conglomerate [[Matra]]'s defense wing, [[Matra|Matra Haute Technologie]], to form [[Aérospatiale-Matra]].<ref>[https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_old_pdf.cfm?ARC_ID=365 "Defense & Aerospace Companies - Volume II."] ''Forecast International'', September 2001.</ref> 

On 10 July 2000, Aérospatiale-Matra merged with DASA and Spanish aviation company [[Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA]] and to form the multinational [[European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company]] (EADS).<ref>[http://aviationweek.com/awin/dasaaerospatiale-matra-merger-creates-european-aerospace-giant "Dasa/Aerospatiale Matra Merger Creates European Aerospace Giant."] ''Aviation Week'', 15 October 1999.</ref> EADS would later rebrand itself as [[Airbus]], taking the name of its commercial aircraft division, its primary business.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23513650 "EADS to be renamed Airbus Group."] ''[[BBC News]]'', 31 July 2013.</ref><ref>Michaels, Daniel. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-eads-became-airbus-1388953976 "How EADS Became Airbus."] ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', 5 January 2014.</ref>

During 2001, Aérospatiale-Matra's missile division underwent a further merger with [[United Kingdom|Anglo]]-French outfit [[Matra BAe Dynamics]] and the missile division of [[Alenia Marconi Systems]] to form the multinational [[MBDA]] entity.<ref>[http://www.mbda-systems.com/about-us/history/ "History."] ''MBDA'', Retrieved: 18 February 2018.</ref><ref>[http://company.airbus.com/news-media/press-releases/Airbus-Group/Financial_Communication/2001/04/en_20010427_mbda_imp_2.html "Creation of MBDA integration of Europe's missile industry."] ''[[Airbus]]'', Retrieved: 18 February 2018.</ref>