Executive Summary
Cobham is a global company engaged in the development, delivery and support of leading edge aerospace and defense systems in the air, on land and at sea. Cobham designs and manufactures equipment, specialised systems and components supplied to the aerospace, defence, homeland security, search and rescue and communications markets and operates, modifies and maintains aircraft for military training, special mission flight operations and outsourced freight and passenger services.
Company History
Cobham plc's origins go back to 1934 when Sir Alan Cobham founded Flight Refuelling Limited (FRL) to investigate Air-to-Air refuelling (AAR) techniques.
Current Events
- The order book rose £300m to £2.5bn at the end of the third quarter, boosted by new contracts from the US Navy.
- Over the past year, it has bought four companies, including Sparta, an intelligence and missile defence business.
Business Model
Cobham is transforming from being predominantly a tier three supplier selling innovative products and components, to a global tier two subsystem partner for prime contractors, OEMs and governments. A range of distinctive subsystem capabilities have been developed through a combination of strategic acquisitions and Company funded R&D. Investments that have seen Cobham develop world leading positions in areas such as air-to-air refuelling, crew oxygen supply and vehicle intercom systems.
Products/Services
Cobham has four divisions specialising in the provision of components, subsystems and services that keep people safe, improve communications and enhance the performance of platforms.
- The Cobham Avionics and Surveillance Division designs, manufactures, qualifies, certifies and supports a complete rangeof electronic products for airborne, marine, land and specialpurpose applications. The Division serves four principal markets: Avionics, Surveillance, SATCOM and France.
- Cobham’s Defence Systems Division designs, develops and manufactures critical technology for network centric and intelligence operations, enabling information to be moved around and managed on the digital battlefield. The Division also supplies distinctive, high technology products for the commercial aerospace and civilian markets and has a comprehensive range of scientific, systems engineering and technical assistance services for the intelligence andmissile defence markets.
- The Cobham Mission Systems Division is the world market leader for air-to-air refuelling, providing fourth generation ‘nose to tail’ solutions from the cockpit of the donor aircraft to the tail of the receiver platform. More than 1,000 systems have been delivered for buddy-buddy refuelling, tactical and strategic tanking for fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, with UAV development well advanced.
- The Cobham Aviation Services Division operates more than 150 fixed and rotary wing aircraft…
