Main Page
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Today's featured article
|
|
BAE Systems is a British defence and aerospace company headquartered at Farnborough, UK, which has worldwide interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is the world's third largest defence contractor and the largest in Europe. BAE was formed on 30 November 1999 by the £7.7 billion merger of two British companies: Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of The General Electric Company plc (GEC) and aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer British Aerospace (BAe). It has increasingly disengaged from its businesses in continental Europe in favour of investing in the United States. Since its formation it has sold its shares of Airbus, EADS Astrium, AMS and Atlas Elektronik. BAE Systems is involved in several major defence projects, including the F-35 Lightning II, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. The company has been the subject of criticism, both general opposition to the arms trade and also specific allegations of unethical and corrupt practices, including the Al Yamamah contracts with Saudi Arabia that have earned BAE and its predecessor £43 billion in twenty years. (more...)
Recently featured: Prince's Palace of Monaco – Peter Jennings – Manzanar
|
Did you know...
|
|
From Wikipedia's newest articles:
|
|
|
|
Today's featured picture
|
 |
The rotor of a modern steam turbine produced by Siemens AG. The steam path is from the smallest blade, expanding through progressively larger blade elements. Steam turbines are used in power plants to extract mechanical work from pressurised steam and benefit from their high efficiency and high power-to-weight ratio compared to other technologies, leading to their widespread deployment from electricity generation to marine propulsion.
Photo credit: Christian Kuhna, Siemens AG
|
|
|
Other areas of Wikipedia
- Help desk — Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
- Reference desk — Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
- Village pump — For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.
- Community portal — Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
- Site news — Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Local embassy — For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Wikipedia's sister projects
Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects:
Wikipedia languages
|