British Arms Merchant With Passport to the Pentagon

Well, well....do tell!

British Arms Merchant With Passport to the Pentagon:

It is hard to tell whether BAE Systems should be flying the Union Jack or waving the Stars and Stripes.

BAE, the British military contractor, manages top-secret programs in England and the United States and makes weapons for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is the world's fourth-largest military contractor and the seventh-biggest in the United States, the only foreign Pentagon supplier to crack the top 10.

BAE says it is neither British nor American, but a new breed of military contractor, a trans-Atlantic supplier. Its American subsidiary, based in Arlington, Va., has operations in 36 states as well as England, Sweden, Israel and South Africa. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange, but nearly 50 percent of its shares are held by American investors.

The chief executive, Mike Turner, has even hinted he might move the company to the United States if he gets more Pentagon business, a goal that is central to his strategy for growth.

It's been the absolutely right strategy for BAE to enter the American market,' said Alexandra Ashbourne, head of Ashbourne Strategic Consulting, a London research firm. 'Although others are trying to do the same, BAE has been more successful. No doubt they will be looking for more in the U.S. It's where the defense spending is.'

Of course, BAE's ability to get Pentagon business is, in large part, the result of a special relationship between Britain and the United States that allows BAE to bid more easily on Pentagon business than companies from other foreign companies. BAE has capitalized on that advantage by moving boldly and quickly. It has acquired American businesses worth more than $7 billion since 1999 and wants even more.