One of the key planks of EADS's defence strategy is its systems house, Defence & Communications Systems (DCS), headed by Stefan Zoller. The business unit - separate from the avionics and subsystems provider Defence Electronics and the other Defence & Security Systems businesses - acts as a lead systems integrator for technologies, platforms and subsystems developed by EADS's sister companies and partners and giving them "network-enabling capabilities".
"Last year, we decided that EADS had to do better on the systems side and that we needed to reshape the business to really focus on creating a systems house," says Zoller. "EADS was primarily seen as a platform company. But the emphasis tomorrow is not going to be on selling platforms, it's going to be selling missions, and we approach the market as a lead systems integrator. Our overall aim is to increase efficiency and reduce cost for the customer."
The business unit, which employs 6,000 people, is targeting civil as well as military customers, particularly with the growth in the homeland security market.
Large event security - where a central control room has to be linked with everything from police helicopters to close-circuit TV cameras and emergency services - offers a big opportunity, says Zoller. The unit is bidding for a contract to oversee the security system for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Border security, particularly policing the new eastern frontiers of the European Union, is another possible market.
Source: Flight International
