Qinetiq Alpha JetThis Alpha jet is part of the Qinetiq program.
QinetiQ (LSE: QQ.) (pronounced kĭ-nĕt'ĭk, as in kinetic energy) is a British defence technology company, created out of the greater part of the government agency DERA when it was split up in June 2001 (with the smaller part forming Dstl). The Chief Executive at inception was the present day Chairman Sir John Chisholm. The current CEO is Graham Love.
In solving defence and security problems they operate at the leading edge of both the development and application of science and technology. This enables them to give commercial customers access to solutions that are often beyond the state-of-the-art available in civil markets.
When QinetiQ was created, the announcement by Defence Minister Lewis Moonie said that company would become, and remain, a British company based in the UK. The Ministry of Defence would retain a 'Special Share' in the company, and safeguards will be in place to prevent conflicts of interest. In February 2003, the U.S. private equity firm the Carlyle Group acquired a 33.8% share in the company for £42m. Current ownership is split between the MOD (56%), Carlyle Group (31%) and staff (13%). The Carlyle Group was expected to invest for three to five years, after which a stock exchange float would take place.
As a privatised company, QinetiQ is now one of the largest defence research organisations in the world. While part of DERA, the defence research sites that now form QinetiQ carried out testing, research and development, including the invention of liquid crystal displays, the technology for flat panel speakers, microwave radar, Chobham armour, and thermal imagers. In recent years QinetiQ has also developed software products, especially those for the defence and security industries.
QinetiQ has a long term agreement (25 years) with the Ministry of Defence to manage military ranges. It is a major stakeholder in the UK Defence Technology Centre which place military research contracts on behalf of the UK Ministry of Defence.
Picture added on 18 July 2006
