Editing Marconi Electronic Systems

{{Short description|Defence arm of the defunct General Electric Company (1897-1999)}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Marconi Electronic Systems Limited
| logo = GEC Marconi logo.svg
| logo_size = 250px
| fate = Merged with [[British Aerospace]]
| successor = [[BAE Systems]]
| foundation = {{sda|1897|07|20|df=y}} (as [[Marconi Company]])
| defunct = {{end date|1999|11|30}}
| location = [[Chelmsford]], England
| key_people = [[Guglielmo Marconi]]<br/>[[Arnold Weinstock]]
| parent = [[General Electric Company]]
}}
'''Marconi Electronic Systems Limited''' ('''MES'''), or '''GEC-Marconi''' as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of [[General Electric Company]] (GEC). It was split off from GEC and bought by [[British Aerospace]] (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form [[BAE Systems]]. GEC then renamed itself [[Telent|Marconi plc]].

MES exists today as '''BAE Systems Electronics Limited''', a subsidiary of BAE Systems, but the assets were rearranged elsewhere within that company. MES-related businesses include [[BAE Systems Submarine Solutions]], [[BAE Systems Surface Ships]], [[BAE Systems Insyte]] and [[Selex ES]] (now a part of [[Leonardo (company)|Leonardo]]).

== History ==
[[File:Marconi Radar dish at Norwich Aiport.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Marconi [[S Band|S]]511 radar located at [[Norwich International Airport]]]]

The [[Marconi Company]] had been formed by [[Guglielmo Marconi]] in 1897 in Britain, originally under the name of The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-05-13 |title=Marconi's first radio broadcast made 125 years ago |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-61327062 |access-date=2023-04-24}}</ref> Following GEC's acquisition of Marconi as part of [[English Electric]] in 1968, the Marconi brand was used for its defence businesses, e.g. Marconi Space & Defence Systems (MSDS), Marconi Underwater Systems Ltd (MUSL). 

When it was bought by General Electric, MES represented the pinnacle of GEC's defence businesses which had a heritage of almost 100 years. GEC's history of military products dates back to [[World War I]] with its contribution to the war effort then including radios and bulbs. [[World War II]] consolidated this position with the company involved in many important technological advances, most notably [[radar]].

Between 1945 and GEC's demerger of its defence business in 1999, the company became a major [[defence contractor]]. GEC's major defence related acquisitions included [[Associated Electrical Industries]] in 1967, [[English Electric Company]] (including Marconi as a subsidiary) in 1968, [[Yarrow Shipbuilders]] in 1985, parts of [[Ferranti]]'s defence business in 1990, [[Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering]] in 1995 and [[Kvaerner Govan]] in 1999. In June 1998, MES acquired [[Tracor]], a major American defence contractor, for US$1.4 billion.

=== Demerger ===
The 1997 merger of American corporations [[Boeing]] and [[McDonnell Douglas]], which followed the forming of [[Lockheed Martin]], the world's largest defence contractor in 1995, increased the pressure on European defence companies to consolidate. In June 1997, British Aerospace Defence managing director [[John Weston (businessman)|John Weston]] commented "Europe... is supporting three times the number of contractors on less than half the budget of the U.S.".<ref>{{cite news|first=Andrea|last=Rothman|author2=Landberg, Reed|url=http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=2544541&date=19970615&query=Pressure+to+Unite|title=Europe Defense Firms Feel Pressure to Unite|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=15 June 1997|access-date=12 September 2007|archive-date=17 May 2016|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160517164431/http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=2544541&date=19970615&query=Pressure+to+Unite|url-status=dead}}</ref> European governments wished to see the merger of their defence manufacturers into a single entity, a European Aerospace and Defence Company.<ref>{{cite news|title=Business: The Company File: Defence merger on the radar |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/130305.stm|publisher=BBC|date=10 July 1998|access-date=15 September 2007}}</ref>

As early as 1995, British Aerospace and the German aerospace and defence company [[DaimlerChrysler Aerospace]] (DASA) were said to be keen to create a transnational aerospace and defence company.<ref>{{cite news|first=Adam|last=Jones|title=Europe cries foul as New BAe emerges|newspaper=The Times|date=20 January 1999}}</ref> Merger discussions began between British Aerospace and DASA in July 1998. A merger was agreed between British Aerospace chairman [[Richard Evans (businessman)|Richard Evans]] and DASA CEO [[Jürgen E. Schrempp|Jürgen Schrempp]] in December 1998.<ref name="ftBAeDASA">{{cite news|first=Peter |last=Spiegel|title=The largest aerospace companies gather next week for the Farnborough air show but the event will be without its long-time unofficial host|newspaper=Financial Times|page=11|date=17 July 2004}}</ref>

GEC was also under pressure to participate in defence industry consolidation. Reporting the appointment of [[George Simpson, Baron Simpson of Dunkeld|George Simpson]] as GEC managing director in 1996, ''The Independent'' had said "some analysts believe that Mr Simpson's inside knowledge of BAe, a long-rumoured GEC bid target, was a key to his appointment. GEC favours forging a national "champion" defence group with BAe to compete with the giant US organisations".<ref>{{cite news|first=Russell|last=Hotten|title=GEC confirms Simpson job|newspaper=The Independent|page=17|date=19 March 1996}}</ref> When GEC put MES up for sale on 22 December 1998, BAE abandoned the DASA merger in favour of purchasing its British rival. The merger of British Aerospace and MES was announced on 19 January 1999.<ref>BAE Systems Annual Report 1999 p.22 BAE Systems plc (2000) Retrieved 27 October 2006</ref> Evans stated that in 2004 that his fear was that an American defence contractor would acquire MES and challenge both British Aerospace and DASA.<ref name="ftBAeDASA"/> The merger created a [[vertically integrated]] company which ''The Scotsman'' described as "[a combination of British Aerospace's] contracting and platform-building skills with Marconi's coveted electronics systems capability".<ref>{{cite news|first=Louise|last=Nevill|title=BAe and Marconi moving toward merger|newspaper=The Scotsman|page=17|date=4 January 1999}}</ref> for example combining the manufacturer of the Eurofighter with the company that provided many of the aircraft's electronic systems; British Aerospace was MES' largest customer.<ref>{{cite news|title=Speculation Rises on GEC Merger |newspaper=The Scotsman|date=28 December 1998}}</ref> In contrast, DASA's response to the breakdown of the merger discussion was to merge with Aérospatiale to create the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company ([[Airbus|EADS]]), a [[horizontal integration]]. EADS has since considered a merger with [[Thales Group|Thales]] to create a "fully rounded" company.<ref name="integrated">{{cite news|title=Getting it together?|newspaper=The Economist|date=20 July 2002}}</ref>

While MES was responsible for the majority of GEC's defence sales other GEC companies achieved defence related sales, principally [[Alstom|GEC Alsthom]], [[Marconi Communications|GEC-Plessey Telecommunications]] (GPT) and GEC Plessey Semiconductors.

== Organisation ==
* [[Marconi Avionics]]
* Marconi North America
* Marconi Naval Systems
* [[Alenia Marconi Systems]] (AMS)
* [[Matra Marconi Space]]
* [[Thomson Marconi Sonar]]
* [[Marconi Research Centre]]
* Marconi Radar Systems
* Marconi Communications Systems

== Major projects ==
''This is a partial list:''
* Produced 12 of the class of 16 [[Type 23 frigate]]s. Also the major electronics and equipment supplier for the class.
* Civil avionics, e.g. [[Boeing 777]] fly-by-wire systems
* UK prime contractor on the [[Horizon CNGF]] programme until 1999. Following the withdrawal of the UK from the programme, MES was awarded the subsequent [[Type 45 destroyer]] prime contractor position several days before merging with BAe.
* Part of [[Raytheon]] [[Raytheon Sentinel|ASTOR]] bid team
* [[Royal Navy]] {{sclass|Astute|submarine|0}} [[fleet submarine]]s
* [[Brimstone missile|Brimstone]] Anti-Armour Missile
* [[TIALD]] [[laser designator]] pod
* [[AI.24 Foxhunter]], radar for the [[Panavia Tornado|Tornado]]
* [[ECR-90]], radar for the [[Eurofighter Typhoon]].
* Member of [[Boeing X-32]] [[Joint Strike Fighter Program|JSF]] development team
* Battlefield Artillery Target Engagement System (BATES) for use with [[MLRS]] and [[AS-90]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1993-07-13/debates/9ee598fc-3761-42de-b4d9-2b954593d97d/BattlefieldArtilleryTargetEngagementSystem|title=Battlefield Artillery Target Engagement System - Hansard - UK Parliament}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1986-07-01/debates/7a320026-d264-4180-b1ab-a879b71ad6a9/SecondDaySDebate|title=Second Day's Debate - Hansard - UK Parliament}}</ref>

=== Naval weapons ===
* [[Spearfish torpedo]]
* [[Sting Ray torpedo]]

=== Spacecraft ===
* [[Ariel 6]]
* [[Prospero X-3]]
* [[Zircon (satellite)]]

== See also ==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
* [[Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom]]
* [[GEC-Marconi scientist deaths conspiracy theory]] – Article about the 25+ defence employees who have died in mysterious circumstances since the early 1980s
* [[CMC Electronics]] – formerly the Canadian Marconi Company, once part of EE/GEC & BAe

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.baesystems.com/en/marconi-company-page-part-1 Marconi Electronic Systems Part 1]
* [https://archive.today/20130411015935/https://googledrive.com/host/0B-UggpdTDpJEX2dILTdZeWxBX1U/p172.htm "Forty Years of Marconi Radar from 1946 to 1986", ''GEC Review'', Volume 13, No. 3, 1998]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060423081706/http://www.lockheedmartin.com/wms/findPage.do?dsp=fec&ci=12498&rsbci=0&fti=112&ti=0&sc=400 Boeing, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and Raytheon to create B2B exchange for the aerospace and defense industry, powered by Microsoft]

{{Marconi Electronic Systems}}
{{General Electric Company plc}}
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom}}
{{BAE Systems}}

[[Category:Aircraft component manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Avionics companies]]
[[Category:BAE Systems subsidiaries and divisions]]
[[Category:British companies established in 1897]]
[[Category:Companies based in Chelmsford]]
[[Category:Defunct technology companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Electronics companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Former defence companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:General Electric Company]]
[[Category:Guglielmo Marconi]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1897]]
[[Category:Radar manufacturers]]
[[Category:Science and technology in Essex]]
[[Category:1999 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Torpedo manufacturers]]