Arms Companies at the Engineering Fair

http://weaponsoutofwarwick.wordpress.com/2008/11/03/26/

There are a number of arms companies attending the “Engineering and Technology Fair” on the 8th of November. The University careers service recommends that you find out as much about the companies attending as you can, we feel that this is a very reasonable suggestion therefore to help out with information on the arms companies attending the careers fair that the companies and the careers service probably will not include in their recruitment pitch. For this leaflet an arms company has been defined as company who designs or manufactures products specifically for the military application.


BAE systems

3rd Largest Arms Manufacturer in the World. Largest UK arms Company. £13.7 billion sales, £11.8 billion military sales, 83% military[1]. 6 Ongoing Corruption investigations in the UK (not including the Serious Fraud Office inquiry into the Al Yamamah Saudi deal, stopped by the government). Less than 20% of BAE’s sales are to the UK[2]. In September 2003 The Sunday Times reported that BAE had hired a private security contractor to collate information about individuals working at the Campaign Against Arms Trade and their activities. In February 2007, it again obtained private confidential information from CAAT. In September 2005 The Guardian alleged that banking records showed that BAE paid £1 million to Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator.

Products include: Assault rifles and handguns (H&K), Combat Aircraft, Nuclear weapons (via MBDA), Missiles, Artillery Guns, Munitions, Armoured Vehicles, Tanks, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Warships, Radar Systems, Nuclear Submarines and shackles used in Guantanamo Bay and Saudi Arabia (from their subsidiary Hiatts[3]).

Military customers of note include the UK, US, Israel, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia (Hawk Jets sold during the violent repression of East Timor), India, Pakistan, Tanzania, Lebanon, Poland, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Romania, Chile, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Columbia, Egypt, Ghana, Afghanistan, Brazil, Columbia, Qatar, Algeria (via Qatar)[4], Malaysia, Kenya, Czech Republic, Sweden, Morocco (including attempting to secure a deal in the conflict area of Western Sahara), Greece, Germany, Italy, Austria, Australia, Finland, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Uruguay, Vietnam,



Park Air Systems (Northrop Grumman)

4th Largest Arms Manufacturer in the World1. Total sales for 2006 US$30.1 billion, 90% military sales[5]. A 1999 lawsuit accuses Northrop of knowingly giving the Navy defective drones from 1988 to 1998 and seeks $210 million in damages. A 1992 case filed in Illinois questions how Northrop accounted for “scrap” parts, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. That suit seeks $113 million in damages. Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz, Vice-Presidential Chief of Staff I. Lewis Libby, Pentagon Comptroller Dov Zakheim, and Sean O’Keefe, director of NASA all former Northrop officials, consultants, or shareholders currently holding positions in the Bush administration[6]. Also Northrop recently lost a previously acquired $35bn refuelling tanker contract with the US Air Force after complaints of illegal bidding practices[7].

Products include: Advanced Radar Systems, Missile Defence Systems, High-Energy Laser Systems, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Ship Systems, Mission Systems. Specific work include: managing, operating and providing infrastructure support for the Nevada nuclear testing site, B2 Stealth Bomber, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, Kinetic Energy inceptor missile shields, Military Satellites, Global Hawk unmanned aircraft, Fire scout unmanned attack helicopter, F-5 Freedom Fighter, T-38 Talon, 25% of the Parts for the F-35 Lightning, Zumwalt class destroyer, Nimitz class aircraft carrier, Virginia class attack submarine, Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier, Aegis Class guided missile destroyer, numerous amphibious assault vessels, Night Vision Goggles[8], Northrop’s subsidiary Vinnell Corporation was replaced after failing to fulfil its $48 million contract to train the Iraqi Army.

Military customers include US, China, Israel, Russia, Iran, Morocco, Chile, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya , Venezuela , Brazil, Kenya , Turkey , Jordan, Singapore, , Kuwait, Ethiopia, Malaysia, , Bahrain, South Korea, , Germany, Portugal, Philippines, Mexico, Thailand, Tunisia, Yemen, Vietnam, Australia, Canada and the UK.

Thales

11th Largest Arms Manufacturers in the World, second largest UK Arms Company. Approximately $7 million in military sales, 50% of business is Military.[9]

Military Products include: Air Defence Systems, Missile Systems, Surveillance Systems, Submarines, Helicopters, Communication Systems, Patrol Vessels, Combat Systems, Radar Systems and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Thales also specialises in electronics for many types of military vehicles including tanks, aircraft and warships. Thales claims to be ‘present on all types of air, sea and ground military platforms’.[10] On a side note Thales has also won contracts for the National Identity Card system in the UK.

Thales is prime contractor for the Sawari 2 programme, which involves supplying three frigates to Saudi Arabia equipped with the Arabel multi-function anti-air fire control radar and Aster missile system.[11] In Indonesia and Japan Thales has won contracts for maritime patrol systems. Thales is prime contractor for electronic warfare systems for naval vessels and was selected by Brunei for its Waspada ships and by the UK for “Type 45” destroyers.[12] Shorts Missile Systems, which is now owned by Thales, has delivered over 60,000 missiles to 56 armed forces worldwide[13].[14] Thales is also implicated (as well as EADS) in selling the “Advanced Light Helicopter” to Burma (via India)13 and licensed production of night-vision equipment to China (despite an EU embargo), Thales has also allegedly sold arms to Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Columbia.


QinetiQ

27th Largest arms manufacturer in the world, 3rd Largest UK arms company. £1 billion arms sales per year, 83% Military sales.

Products include: Combat Vehicle Systems (vehicle sensors, displays, power systems), Ballistic missile defence systems (navigation, guidance, detection systems), aircraft maintenance & repair, pilot Equipment (Helmets), Missile Systems, Close Combat Systems (small arms, cannons, infantry systems), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Communication Systems, Surveillance Systems[15]

Military sales include the US, UK, Israel (Joint Strike Fighter), Turkey, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands and the Philippines.[16]


AWE

AWE makes and maintains the UK’s nuclear weapons. AWE is 1/3 owned by the US company Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest arms company, 1/3 by the UK firm Serco, and 1/3 by the UK government owned BNFL. The BNFL 1/3 is currently in the process of being sold to either the US firm Jacobs or Fluor. AWE was in the news in 2006 by its attempts to circumvent nuclear testing treaties by developing a new “Reliable Replacement Warhead”, according to Matrix Chambers; this may be a material breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. By continuing to possess and make new nuclear weapons, Britain is failing to comply with its obligations to disarm under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which it signed in 1968. The Trident replacement programme to build a new generation of nuclear deterrents is thought to cost the UK taxpayer £75bn over 50 years[17].






MBDA

Part of 8th Largest Arms Manufacturer in the World (owned by EADS, BAE and Marconi), 100% Military, Largest manufacturers of guided missiles in the world. Products include Air to air, Surface to air, Air to surface, Anti-ship and Anti-Tank missile. MBDA missiles are also manufactured to carry nuclear warheads.

MBDA boasts over 70 customers worldwide including the US, UK, Israel, Saudi Arabia, China, Chile, Indonesia, Iran, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Morocco, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Iraq (to Saddam), Kuwait, Libya, Venezuela, Ecuador, Singapore, Columbia, South Africa, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Zambia, Oman, Turkey, South Korea, Poland.


DSTL

DSTL is owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence; it is a hugely secretive organisation that works on high tech military products.

DSTL specialise in biological and chemical warfare, working with anthrax and highly toxic poisons. Their Porton Down site is notorious for testing LSD on armed forces volunteers without their permission and testing the effects of mustard gas on people from different nationalities to study the damage on those with different ethnicities.


Airbus

Airbus is a subsidiary of EADS, the 7th largest arms company worldwide. Airbus also manufactures military products itself, mainly transport and refuelling aircraft.

Products include the A400M tactical transport aircraft, the Multi-Role Tanker Transport and the KC-45 refuelling aircraft.

Customers include the US, United Arab Emirate, Turkey, UK, Spain, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium.


Jaguar Land-Rover

Land Rover’s Defender 4×4 is used for both civilian and military purposes around the world. Land Rover claims to have 70,000 of its vehicles in use around the world[18]. Land Rovers can be found with the militaries and security forces in Zimbabwe, Sudan[19], Israel and UK.


Detica

Detica is owned by BAE systems (92% controlling stake. Detica provides consultancy, customized technology, and knowledge management services to government and corporate clients in the defence, homeland security, counterterrorism, intelligence, and Federal markets sectors. BAE believes the UK ‘homeland security and resilience market’ will double to more than £3bn by 2011 and looks to cash in on this[20].


Atkins

£100m in yearly revenues from military contracts. Atkins provides consultancy services to private arms companies and the MoD. Atkins’ projects include the Rolls Royce made Nuclear reactors for submarines, “Type 45 Destroyer” warships made by BAE systems, military aircraft with QinetiQ and Boeing and armoured vehicles made working with DSTL. The Type 45 Destroyer is sold to Saudi Arabia.[21]


Amec

Provides project management services for military services around the world. AMEC has worked with the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston and has interests in nuclear weapons. AMEC has many contracts building and maintaining military facilities around the world regardless of their usage. Military customers include the UK, US, Iraq, Canada, Eastern Europe, Pacific rim and the Middle East.


Tessella

Tessella produces bespoke products for numerous arms companies including working on systems in the new “Type 45 Anti-Air Warfare destroyers” working directly for BAE systems. Tessella is also involved in nuclear experimentation with contract for the JET fusion reactor and Sellafield.

Tessella’s clients include BAE systems, EADS, AWE, British Nuclear Group, Lockheed Martin, MOD, Thales and various Oil companies including Total (Currently Operating in Burma).


IPL

IPL specialises in software products for arms companies and the MoD. IPL products include software for the Merlin Helicopter used for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare roles. IPL supplies EADS with bespoke software (EADS is the 7th largest arms manufacturer in the world[22]).


Infosys

Infosys provides consultancy on manufacturing, design and information technology areas of the defence industry.


Special Metals Wiggin

Special Metals is a world leader in the invention, production and supply of the high-nickel, high-performance alloys used for the difficult jobs in engineering. Its high strength alloys are specified for military supersonic aircraft, helicopters and spacecraft as well as marine applications for military ships and submarines.


Lloyd’s Register

Lloyds Register provides management and technical consultancy services to navies around the world, Lloyds register also consults on defence procurement[23]. Lloyds Register has provided consultancy for arms companies such as Thales[24]. Lloyds Register provides maintenance services for marine vessels including military craft as well as advising on technical design issues.


Morgan Professional Services

Morgan Professional Services provides design, engineering and project management services. Projects include a floating submarine jetty for the MOD at Faslane nuclear submarine base and home of the UK’s nuclear arms.


For more information see weaponsoutofwarwick.wordpress.com

Or the facebook group Weapons out of Warwick

Please recycle this leaflet



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[1] World Rank is from the 2006 top 100 taken from Defense News Top 100 July 2007

[2] CAAT Publications – Arms Fairs, DSEI (2003), http://www.caat.org.uk/publications/armsfairs/dsei-2003-report/baes.php, Accessed 5/11/07

[3] As used on the famous Nelson Mandela, Thomas, 2006, Ebury Press pp212-222

[4] CorporateWatch – BAE systems, A corporate Profile 2003, http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=182

[5] Publications – Northrop Grumman, http://www.caat.org.uk/publications/companies/northrop.php, Accessed 1/11/08

[6] Corpwatch: Northrop Gumman, http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=11 accessed 1/11/08

[7] The Times 11/9/08

[8] Northrop Grumman capabilities brochure

[9] CAAT Publications – Thales, http://www.caat.org.uk/publications/companies/thales.php , Accessed 7/10/07

[10] www.thalesgroup.com/ga/business_zone/defence/home.htm , Accessed 24/8/03

[11] www.thalesgroup.com/ga/business_zone/defence/naval.htm, accessed 24/08/03

[12] www.thalesgroup.com/ga/business_zone/defence/airborne.htm, accessed 24/08/03

[13] www.thalesgroup.co.uk/ga/business_zone/defence/AirDefence.htm, accessed 13/08/03

[14] http://www.caat.org.uk/publications/companies/thales2003.php, accessed 7/10/07

[15] CAAT Publications – QinetiQ, http://www.caat.org.uk/publications/companies/qinetiq.php , Accessed 5/11/07

[16] QinetiQ Annual report 2007, http://www.investis.com/reports/qntq_ar_2007_en/report.php? , Accessed 5/11/07

[17] Time for a real review of defence spending, Robert Fox, Guardian Comment is free, 4/9/08

[18] Army Technology Website – Land Rover http://www.army-technology.com/contractors/vehicles/ landrover/accesssed 1/10/08

[19] “British firm breaks Sudan arms boycott” Jon Swain & Brian Johnson Thomas Sunday Times, 22/4/2007
[20] Financial Times 29/7/08

[21] “UK seek £2bn Saudi destroyer contract”, Michael Harrison, The Independent, Published 9/3/2007, http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2341426.ece , Accessed 14/10/07

[22] CAAT Publications –EADS, http://www.caat.org.uk/publications/companies/eads.php , Accessed 14/10/07

[23] Lloyds Register Website – “Sectors We Serve – Defence”, http://www.lr.org/Industries/Defence, Accessed 5/11/07

[24] LRQA Website – Case Studies, Thales, http://www.lr.org/Industries/LRQA/Case+studies/Thales.htm, Accessed 5/11/07


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

Arms Companies at Warwick 6/10/08
ISRAELI ACCESS TO INDIA’S DEFENCE SECTOR IS ‘AWESOME’- By Rahul Bedi …
Worldwide military update
ARM Profiler for Symbian OS: ARM and Symbian Collaborate to Enable Feature-…
This entry was posted on November 3, 2008 at 9:09 pm and is filed under Arms Trade, Warwick University. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.