Businesses

EADS

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The group’s strategic stake in the European company EADS demonstrates its commitment to high technology. A global leader in aviation, space and defense, EADS was created following the merger between France’s Aerospatiale Matra, Spain’s Casa and Germany’s DaimlerChrysler Aerospace. Its success stems from the know-how of its 110,000+ employees, its technological innovations, a host of major European programs (including Eurofighter and Ariane) and a number of first-class companies such as Airbus, Eurocopter, MBDA and Astrium.

EADS has five divisions:

Airbus

Airbus is one of the world’s two leading suppliers of commercial airliners with more than 100 seats. Born of a joint venture between the French, German and British governments to create a new commercial airliner in the late 1960s, Airbus draws its strength from being a truly pan-European company.

The inaugural flight of the very first Airbus, the A300B, took place on October 28, 1972, and the company has since delivered more than 4,100 aircraft and sold more than 6,300 airliners to more than 220 customers (as of the end of 2005).

Several factors have contributed to the success of Airbus: its range of modern aircraft, its constant technological innovation, a stable pool of highly qualified staff and the concept of the “product family” of aircraft, which enables customers to reduce costs connected to the training of flight crews and the maintenance and procurement of their fleet of Airbus aircraft of different sizes.

Airbus aircraft products are grouped into five families:

• The A320 family: A318, A319, A320, A321 (single-aisle aircraft with 107-185 seats).
• The A300/A310 family (wide-bodied aircraft with 220-266 seats); production of this family will cease in July 2007.
• The A330/A340/A350 family (wide-bodied long-haul aircraft with 253-380 seats).
• The A380 family (large capacity, double deck, minimum of 555 seats).
• The future A350 XWB family (medium capacity, long-haul, 270-350 seats).

Airbus employs more than 55,000 people, mainly in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, and has 16 sites in these countries dedicated not only to the manufacture of finished aircraft parts but also research and development in their respective areas of specialization. The main component parts are transported to Toulouse (A320, A300/310, A330/340/350 and A380) or Hamburg (A318, A319 and A321) to be assembled.

Military transport aircraft

The Military Transport Aircraft (MTA) division designs, manufactures and sells small- and medium-capacity military transport aircraft. It is in charge of driving the A400M project, a high-capacity European military transport aircraft.

The MTA division also produces and sells special-mission aircraft based on existing models (Airbus A310 and A330) adapted for specific military tasks such as maritime surveillance, anti-submarine weaponry and in-flight refueling. Its 5,000-strong workforce also designs and sells aerostructure components.

Eurocopter

Eurocopter is one of the world’s leading helicopter manufacturers, producing once of the most comprehensive and modern ranges of civil and military helicopters on the market, from the light single-engine EC 120 through to 10-ton medium transport helicopters such as the EC 225 and the EC 725, as well as the mid-range EC 135 twin-engine model.

This extensive range covers approximately 90% of all helicopter functions, including the transport of VIPs and usage by emergency rescue services, the police, offshore oil operations and special military operations.

Eurocopter has confirmed its position as world leader with respect to orders for new helicopters and continues to dominate the civil and semi-public helicopter markets, while also looking at considerable potential for growth in the military sector due to the growing importance of the Tiger combat helicopter and the NH90 tactical transport helicopter.

Defense and security systems

The Defense and Security Systems (DS) division is the defense and security branch of the EADS group. Its portfolio of innovative products and integrated solutions, covering electronics, missiles, platforms, systems and services, is designed to respond to the increasingly changing requirements of armed forces with respect to national security.

In 2005, MBDA, an EADS subsidiary, maintained its position as the leading supplier of missiles worldwide. In addition to its drone production activities, its Air Defense System Unit is one of the main partners in the Eurofighter consortium. EADS, the world’s No. 3 supplier of defense electronics in Europe, is a key player in the secure and cryptic telecommunications market. The DS division has also increased its activities in the national security market.

The division employs approximately 23,000 employees in 10 different countries.

Space

EADS SPACE is the third-largest supplier of space systems in the world, behind Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and the leading European supplier of satellites, orbital infrastructures and launchers. The Space division designs, develops and manufactures satellites, orbital infrastructures and launchers, primarily through its subsidiaries, EADS Astrium and EADS Space Transportation (EADS ST), which is the sole prime contractor for the Ariane 5 system. Finally, EADS Space Services provides just that – space services.

The Space division also offers launch services through its shareholdings in Arianespace, Starsem and Eurockot, as well as satellite telecommunications and earth observation services through specialized companies such as Paradigm.

Other activities

EADS includes three other activities that are not attached to any of its five divisions: ATR is one of the world leaders in the market for turbo-prop regional aircraft with 40 to 70 seats; Socata manufactures a range of light aircraft designed for both civil aeronautics and for the public fleet; and EFW specializes in converting commercial Airbus aircraft into cargo versions.