2nd Nov 2015 13:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - Defence contractor BAE Systems PLC on Monday confirmed a Financial Times report that it has acquired a 20% stake in Reaction Engines Ltd, the company behind the Sabre rocket engine.
BAE has paid GBP20.6 million to acquire a 20% stake in Reaction and to enter into a working partner relationship. The partnership will provide Reaction with access to critical industrial, technical and capital resources in order to progress towards being able to demonstrate a ground-based engine.
UK-based Reaction is developing the technology behind the SABRE combined cycle air-breathing rocket engine. This new class of engine is designed to allow aircraft to operate from standstill on a runway to speed of more than five-times the speed of sound
The engine can then transition to a rocket mode, allowing spaceflight as speeds up to orbital velocity, which translates to around 25-times the speed of sound.
The SABRE programme is also set, BAE said, to get GBP60.0 million in funding from the UK government to further back to its development.
"Reaction Engines is a highly innovative UK company, and our collaboration gives BAE Systems a strategic interest in a breakthrough air and space technology with significant future potential. Our partnership with Reaction Engines is part of our sustained commitment to investing in and developing prospective emerging technologies. BAE Systems' considerable engineering and development expertise will help support the delivery of the first demonstrator for the SABRE engine," said Nigel Whitehead, group managing director for programmes and support at BAE.
Shares in BAE were up 0.9% to 444.00 pence on Monday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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