Două avioane britanice de luptă au fost ridicate sâmbătă de la sol de la o bază din Scoţia, după o incursiune a unor aeronave ruse, a anunţat Ministerul britanic al Apărării, citat de Reuters.
„Două (aeronave – n.r.) Typhoon au fost trimise în această dimineaţă (sâmbătă – n.r.) de la RAF Lossiemouth, în cadrul sistemului RAF de Alertă pentru Reacţie Rapidă, în replică la două avioane ruse care au intrat în spaţiul aerian britanic”, a anunţat Ministerul într-un comunicat.
AT A GLANCE
Mike Turner, 57, CEO since 2002
Country: Britain
Sector: Aerospace and defense
Sales € 16 billion
Net Income € 851 million
BAE Systems is finally on target. Europe's largest defense contractor, a product of a 1999 merger between British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems, struggled for years with cost overruns and reorganization expenses. But last year was a turning point. Tighter management yielded profits from ongoing projects while Chief Executive Mike Turner shelled out $4 billion to buy Arlington (Va.)-based United Defense, maker of the Bradley fighting vehicle.
With defense spending stagnant in Europe, BAe is pinning its hopes on the Pentagon, which now accounts for about 40% of sales. In line with that strategy, Turner is further sharpening BAe's focus on defense. On June 8, BAe announced it had exercised an option to sell its 20% stake in commercial jet maker Airbus to the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., which owns 80% of Airbus. The sale could yield more than $5 billion—an ample warchest for more acquisitions.
—Carol Matlack
