INSYS

In August 2005, INSYS was acquired by Lockheed Martin of the US and has been renamed Lockheed Martin UK INSYS Limited. The following information pre-dates the takeover.

World ranking: outside the top 100
Total Military Sales: £176m¹
Employees: 857²
Military related products include: Weapon and communication systems

INSYS Ltd, Reddings Wood, Ampthill, Bedfordshire MK45 2HD
Tel: + 44 (0) 1525 841 000

Background

INSYS is the new incarnation of Hunting Engineering Ltd following a £42.3m management buy-out from Hunting plc in 2001 (jointly funded by senior management and ABN AMBRO Bank). INSYS has three locations in the UK: Manufacturing facilities are located at the Ampthill site. The facilities in Pershore, Worchester, and Dstl Porton Down, near Salisbury, are test facilities. INSYS also has a joint venture with Giat called Euro-Shelter, which is located in Rennes, France.

What it makes

INSYS's 'vision' is 'to be a preferred contractor to the UK Ministry of Defence and partner of choice to the global defence industry.'³ Its main business areas are: Communications and Information Systems, Battlespace Engagement (which 'offers a warhead design, development and test capability' which 'provides our customers with an unrivalled service.'⁴), Battlefield Support and Manufacturing.

Hunting Engineering manufactured the BL755 cluster weapon from the 1960s to mid-1980s and now INSYS is contracted by the Royal Air Force to test the safety and serviceability of existing stocks of cluster weapons. ⁵ It is unclear whether this includes supplying components for the weapon. ⁶ Each BL755 comprises a main dispenser body and 147 submunitions with fragmenting warheads. ⁷ The refurbished RBL755 is equipped with a radar proximity sensor for deployment from medium and high altitudes. The failure rate of the submunitions is the subject of debate with the MoD reporting a rate of 6%.⁸ It has been reported that the MoD has extended the use of BL755 - used in Yugoslavia and Iraq (1991 and 2003) - until 2006. ⁹

INSYS has received recent contracts from MBDA and Celerg (a French rocket motor manufacturer) for Aster 15 and Aster 30 missile launchers, ¹⁰ and from the Defence Procurement Agency to design, build and test a system demonstrator of a rocket artillery system for the UK Army. ¹¹ It is involved in the Son of Star Wars project as part of a 'foundation group' of five UK firms in the MoD-led Missile Defence Centre set up in July 2003.¹²

References

Unless otherwise indicated, world ranking (by military sales), military sales and military sales percentage are sourced from Defense News (21.7.03) and refer to 2002

1 Figure refers to 2001, www.insys-ltd.co.uk, accessed 31.10.01
2 Figure refers to 2001, www.insys-ltd.co.uk, accessed 31.10.01
3 www.insys-ltd.co.uk/about/about.htm
4 www.insys-ltd.co.uk/battlespace/warheads.htm
5 www.abnamro.com/pressroom/downloads/letter_sp.pdf, accessed 11.08.03
6 CAAT, CAATnews, June/July 2003
7 www.eurofighter.starstreak.net/common/AG/bl755.html, accessed 11.08.03
8 Hansard, 16.6.03. Col 52/3W
9 Jane's Defence Weekly, 'UK to extend use of cluster bombs', 5.12.01
10 Defense News, 'INSYS Snags Aster Contracts', 3.3.03
11 Jane's Defence Weekly, 'UK awards rocket launcher contract', 6.8.03
12 Ministry of Defence Press Release, 18.7.03

Company Websites (including subsidiaries & joint ventures)

INSYS

[Published: September 2003]