Interim Management Statement

9 November 2011

Cobham INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Current Trading and Outlook

Group organic revenue growth in the first nine months of the year has been marginally negative, consistent with the Board's full year expectations. Conditions in the defence and security market have remained challenging, while commercial activities have continued to grow. Good progress continues on the Excellence in Delivery programme and this remains on track to deliver the anticipated £21m of annualised year-on-year savings, which will drive some underlying progress in the year.

The US defence and security market is expected to remain challenging with constraints over Government spending tightening, with significant and ongoing uncertainty over the size, timing and allocation of federal budget cuts. As a consequence, there is continued poor visibility for 2012 trading.

The Group is actively responding to this uncertainty by making significant efficiency savings through operational improvement and by enhancing the robustness of the portfolio through acquisitions and divestments. As well as its focus on winning programme positions, the Group is developing further cost reduction initiatives which will be implemented, as necessary, to adjust to future changes in the market environment.

Acquisitions and Divestments

In October, the Group announced the agreed divestment of its non-core Analytic Solutions business to Parsons Corporation for US$350m in cash, generating an estimated gain on completion of US$20m.

Cobham also completed the acquisition of Trivec-Avant Corporation (Trivec) in October for US$126m cash, plus US$18m contingent on future performance. Trivec is a leading global supplier of sophisticated ultra high frequency satellite communication (SATCOM) antenna systems. More than US$72m of contract awards have been announced subsequently for the supply of SATCOM antennas to two customers over six years.

Operational Update

The Group's focus on technology and product development has resulted in the award of a number of strategically important multi-year contracts in the period, with the Group's book-to-bill ratio remaining above the equivalent period in 2010.

Cobham has announced the following awards during the period:

·; In July, two Engineering and Development phase subcontracts valued in excess of US$73m were announced to supply Boeing with aerial refuelling systems for the US Air Force's (USAF) next generation strategic tanker, the KC-46. The USAF plans to acquire 179 aircraft, each of which will be equipped with Cobham air-to-air refuelling systems;

·; Underlining Cobham's world leading position in air-to-air refuelling systems was the September announcement of an award to develop and supply the wing aerial refuelling pod for the new Embraer KC-390 tanker aircraft, with an initial contract value in excess of US$60m. The Brazilian Air Force is the launch customer with significant export orders anticipated;

·; A contract worth in excess of £10m from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) was announced in August to provide calibration of navigation and landing aids at all MoD airfields worldwide. The contract demonstrates Cobham's capability as the leading provider of airfield calibration services in Europe;

·; A US$17m contract in September from the US Naval Air Systems Command to manufacture the AN/ALQ-99 Low Band Transmitter-Antenna Group for US Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B and E/A-18G electronic warfare aircraft. This brings the total number of production transmitters ordered to 233 of 315 required, with deliveries expected to continue until 2014;

·; In October, the Group announced an AUD500m extension of its current B717 Qantaslink contract to 2018. The contract increases the number of B717's operated by Cobham from 11 to 13, with the establishment of a Brisbane operating base in early 2012 and strengthens Cobham's 20-year relationship with Qantas;

·; Announced in October, a €45m contract to provide helicopter air reconnaissance capacity to the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard. This breaks new ground for FB Heliservices, a joint venture between Cobham and Bristow Helicopters.

Financial Position

The company has achieved strong operating cash conversion in the period. Net debt increased modestly to £395m (30 June: £378m), primarily due to the share buy-back programme and adverse foreign exchange movements, as most of Cobham's debt is US dollar denominated as a natural hedge against US dollar denominated assets and earnings.

Cobham has signed a US$360m revolving credit facility for five years, with two one-year options, in line with its requirements. This facility replaces an existing facility and will be available for drawdown in mid-2012. The interest cost of this facility will be only modestly higher than that which it replaces.

Share Buy-Back

On 4 November 2011, the Group completed its previously announced share buy-back programme of up to £150m. A total of 76m shares, representing 6.6% of the issued ordinary share capital have been purchased for £150m, excluding transaction costs, and held in treasury. At the close of business on 4 November, there were 1,079m ordinary shares in issue, excluding the shares held in treasury.

Cobham's preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2011 will be announced on 8 March 2012.

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ENQUIRIES

Cobham plc

Andy Stevens, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)1202 882020

Warren Tucker, Chief Financial Officer +44 (0)1202 882020

Julian Wais, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0)1202 857998

Brunswick

Nick Claydon/Mike Harrison +44 (0)20 7404 5959

NOTES

1. Cobham specialises in meeting the insatiable demand for data, connectivity and bandwidth in defence, security and commercial environments. Offering a technically diverse and innovative range of technologies and services, the Group protects lives and livelihoods, responding to customer needs with agility that differentiates it. The most important thing we build is trust. Employing more than 11,000 people on five continents, the Group has customers and partners in over 100 countries, with annual revenue of some £1.9bn / US$3 billion.

2. This document contains 'forward-looking statements' with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of Cobham and to certain of Cobham's plans and objectives with respect to these items.

Forward-looking statements are sometimes but not always identified by their use of a date in the future or such words as 'anticipates', 'aims', 'due', 'could', 'may', 'should', 'expects', 'believes', 'intends', 'plans', 'targets', 'goal', or 'estimates'. By their very nature, forward-looking statements are inherently unpredictable, speculative and involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or will occur in the future.

There are various factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in the economies, political situations and markets in which the Group operates; changes in government priorities due to programme reviews or revisions to strategic objectives; changes in the regulatory or competition frameworks in which the Group operates; the impact of legal or other proceedings against or which affect the Group; changes to or delays in programmes in which the Group is involved; the completion of acquisitions and divestitures and changes in exchange rates.

All written or verbal forward-looking statements, made in this document or made subsequently, which are attributable to Cobham or any other member of the Group or persons acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. Cobham does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.