BAE Systems

In 1998 the aero and space market in the United Kingdom was estimated to be £21.6 billion, contributing over ten percent of the UK manufacturing gross domestic product and two percent of the entire GDP. The bulk of the industry lies in military sales, which amounts to almost half of the product sales of the aviation market. Military sales have helped companies like British Aerospace (BAE) systems, and Rolls Royce become amongst the UK’s largest exporters. The aerospace industry has remained strong in difficult periods through the nineties when there were large defence cutbacks and civil airline cancellations. However, it has been the technical excellence and market positioning that has allowed companies like Rolls Royce to widen the capacity of sales, through associations and relationships with traditional rivals and gained entry into new global markets. This has resulted in the UK industry gaining many domestic and foreign contracts for civil and military defence sales.
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