Aérospatiale () was a French state-owned aerospace and defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale () through the merger of three state-owned aerospace firms: Nord Aviation, SEREB, and Sud Aviation.

During its existence, Aérospatiale was one of the world's largest aerospace companies. It was Europe's biggest general aeronautics manufacturer and its leading exporter in the industry. Its products included civilian and military aircraft and helicopters, launch vehicles and satellites, as well as weapon systems ranging from intercontinental ballistic missiles to portable anti-tank guided missiles. The company was also a key participant in several high-profile multinational programs, including the Concorde supersonic airliner, the Ariane series of launch vehicles, and the Airbus A300, the world’s first twin-engined wide-body airliner.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the ensuing "peace dividend", much of the European aerospace and defence industry began to consolidate. Aérospatiale's breakup was accelerated by the French government's efforts to privatize state-owned companies. In 1992, Aérospatiale and Germany's DASA each spun off their helicopter divisions, which merged to form the Eurocopter Group—later renamed Airbus Helicopters—with the two parent companies holding 70% and 30% stakes, respectively. In 1999, Aérospatiale’s satellite manufacturing division was acquired by Alcatel to form Alcatel Space, later renamed Thales Alenia Space.

In October 1999, Aérospatiale’s remaining assets were merged with the aerospace, defence, and telecommunications division of the French conglomerate Matra. The merger both consolidated the French aerospace sector and reduced the French government’s shareholding in preparation for a larger consolidation. The merged company, Aérospatiale-Matra, then joined with Germany’s DASA and Spain's CASA on 10 July 2000 to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which was later rebranded Airbus.

History

Formation

thumb|Former head office on the Boulevard de Montmorency

In 1970, Aérospatiale was created under the name Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale as a result of the merger of several French state-owned companies - Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation and Société d'étude et de réalisation d'engins balistiques (SEREB). The newly formed entity was the largest aerospace company in France. From the onset, the French government owned a controlling stake in Aérospatiale; at one stage, a 97 per cent ownership of the company was held by the government.

In 1971, Aérospatiale was managed by the French industrialist Henri Ziegler; that same year, the firm's North American marketing and sales arm, which had previously operated under the trading name of the French Aerospace Corporation, was officially rebranded as the European Aerospace Corporation, which was intended to better reflect Aérospatiale's increasing focus on collaborative efforts with its European partners.

Major activities

Many of Aérospatiale's initial programmes were holdovers from its predecessors, particularly those of Sud Aviation.

During the late 1990s, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government initiated a policy towards the privatization of Aérospatiale. In 1999, the majority of Aérospatiale, except for the satellites activities, merged with French conglomerate Matra's defense wing, Matra Haute Technologie, to form Aérospatiale-Matra.

On 10 July 2000, Aérospatiale-Matra merged with DASA and Spanish aviation company Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA and to form the multinational European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS). EADS would later rebrand itself as Airbus, taking the name of its commercial aircraft division, its primary business.

During 2001, Aérospatiale-Matra's missile division underwent a further merger with Anglo-French outfit Matra BAe Dynamics and the missile division of Alenia Marconi Systems to form the multinational MBDA entity.

Products

thumb|A [[Fouga CM.170 Magister|Fouga Magister of the Belgian Air Force]]

thumb|The first flight of [[Concorde, in 1969]]

Fixed-wing aircraft

  • CM.170 Magister
  • CM.175 Zephyr
  • Concorde (with British Aircraft Corporation)
  • N.262
  • N.500
  • SE 210 Caravelle
  • SN 601 Corvette
  • TB 30 Epsilon
  • Ludion

Helicopters

thumb|An [[Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil|AS350 Écureuil of the French Gendarmerie]]

thumb|A [[Aérospatiale Gazelle|Gazelle SA 342M of the French Army]]

thumb|A [[Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin|Eurocopter A365+ of the Lithuanian Air Force]]

Chronological prefixes: SE (Sud-Est) > SA (Sud-Aviation) > AS (Aérospatiale) > EC (Eurocopter); below standardized as "AS" with consecutive numbers:

  • AS.313 Alouette II
  • AS.315 Lama
  • AS.316 Alouette III
  • AS.318 Astazou
  • AS.319 Alouette III
  • AS.320 Frelon
  • AS.321 Super Frelon
  • AS.330 Puma
  • AS.332 Super Puma
  • AS.341 Gazelle
  • AS.342 Gazelle
  • AS.350 Ecureuil (AStar)
  • AS.355 Ecureuil 2 (TwinStar)
  • AS.360 Dauphin
  • AS.365 Dauphin 2
  • SA.366 Dolphin
  • AS.505 Gerfaut (Tiger HAP: )
  • AS.532 Cougar
  • AS.550 Fennec
  • AS.565 Panther
  • AS.665 Tigre (Tiger HAC: )

Unmanned aerial vehicles

  • C.22

Missiles

thumb|Launch of an [[Exocet missile]]

  • AS 15 TT
  • AS-20
  • AS-30
  • M1 (missile)
  • M20 (missile)
  • M45 (missile)
  • S1 (missile)
  • S2 (missile)
  • S3 (missile)
  • SS.11
  • SS.12/AS.12
  • Air-Sol Moyenne Portée
  • ENTAC
  • Exocet
  • Hadès (missile)
  • HOT (missile)
  • MILAN
  • Pluton (missile)
  • Roland (missile)

thumb|The first [[Ariane 4 launch, in 1988]]

thumb|[[Diamant|Diamant A on display in the Musée de l'Air]]

  • AMC-5 (satellite)
  • Arabsat (satellite)
  • Arabsat-1A
  • Arabsat-1B
  • Ariane rocket
  • Ariane 1
  • Ariane 2
  • Ariane 3
  • Ariane 4
  • Ariane 5
  • Astra 5A (satellite)
  • Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator
  • Diamant (rocket)
  • Hermes spaceplane (not built)
  • Huygens (spacecraft)
  • Infrared Space Observatory
  • INSAT-1C (satellite)
  • INSAT-2DT (satellite)
  • Meteosat (satellite)
  • Nahuel 1A (satellite)
  • Proteus (satellite)
  • Spacebus (satellite)
  • Symphonie (satellite) (satellite)
  • Tele-X (satellite)
  • Turksat (satellite)
  • Turksat 1A
  • Turksat 1B
  • Turksat 1C
  • Topaze (sounding rocket)
  • TV-SAT 1 (satellite)

List of CEOs

  • 1970-1973 : Henri Ziegler
  • 1973-1975 : Charles Cristofini
  • 1975-1983 : général Jacques Mitterrand, the brother of François Mitterrand
  • Henri Martre (1983 - 1992)
  • Louis Gallois (1992 - 1996)

See also

  • Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • Helis.com