Plane Speaking with: Nigel Whitehead

摘要

AEROSPACE: Before the EU referendum last summer, BAE lined up with other OEMs to warn against the risks of Brexit. Has that panned out as expected? NW: Business likes certainty and launching into something which is uncertain caused us all to be wary of it. In practice, we don't see any material effect on the business so far. The devaluation of the pound has made it interesting for us in the export market, in a positive sense. The business is in a good position. It's well positioned with a large backlog. Our main customers are the UK, Saudi Arabia, the US and Australia so, in that sense, the obvious European trade isn't going to have a major impact. We do, of course, look to the collaborations we have in Europe and those are essentially unaffected. Indeed, I think it is of note that almost as soon as the Brexit vote happened, Prime Minister Theresa May appeared with her French counterpart talking about the importance of the agreement that had been reached on the demonstrator for the future combat air system. Since then, we've heard Secretary of State Michael Fallon talking about the potential for co-operation on defence with Germany. The sense I get is that defence issues are essentially right above the EU membership issues. We will, of course, watch how the trade deals develop and influence those wherever we can, to make sure that the defence material that crosses boundaries in Europe doesn't attract any particular taxes or tariffs.