Already a major GPS military user equipment provider, BAE Systems looks to the U.S. government space market with acquisition…
While last week’s $5.6 billion purchase of Ball Corp.’s BALL 0.00%↑ aerospace division by Britain-based BAE Systems [BAESY] combines two major space and defense companies, it also consolidates two major military GPS players.
The purchase, in an all-cash deal, is BAE Systems’ largest acquisition in its history. They are getting a Colorado-based space and defense company, Ball Aerospace, that earned about $1.98 in revenue in 2022.
While BAE Systems, which is the United Kingdom’s largest defense contractor, is involved in many space and defense markets, it has achieved a large market share in military GPS. In 2021, BAE Systems, with a U.S. subsidiary headquartered in Falls Church, Va., won a $247 million contract with the U.S. Space Force to manufacture an advanced GPS receiver. It also sold a number of Miniature Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver Engine – M-Code (MPE-M) receivers to the German army last year.
For its part, Ball Aerospace has produced thousands of GPS and communication antennas for civil and DoD applications. In addition, the company has worked with the military to provide a proprietary, uninterrupted Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) for some of the most widely used vehicles. The company also manufactures lidar and 3D products for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications.
