Chelton Defence Communications Ltd

Cobham plc ("the Group") announce the important acquisition of the Blackburn UK based Land Platforms Communications business ("LPC") from BAE SYSTEMS. LPC was established in the 1950's as part of the UK's Royal Ordnance to provide intercommunications systems for armoured vehicles under the brand name ROVIS®.

Today, the business is established as a world leader in the supply of digital intra-vehicle communications systems for such programmes as Abrams, Leopard, Warrior, Bradley and Paladin and has, since 1995, been a prime supplier of such systems to the US Army (known as AN/VIC3).

These systems are an integral part of the command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance ("C4ISR") capability of armed forces around the world. To date, more than 20,000 systems have been fielded on more than 26 different vehicle platform families to customers and ROVIS™ has been selected as the standard intercom fit in 13 countries throughout the world.

Henceforth to trade as Chelton Defence Communications , the newly acquired business is a natural extension of Chelton's current airborne intercommunications systems business (Northern Airborne Technology and TEAM) into the military land vehicle market, in which Chelton's radio and antenna companies are also increasingly active.