Interim Management Statement

3 November 2010

INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Current Trading and Outlook

For the first nine months of 2010, the book-to-bill ratio of the Group's Technology Divisions - Avionics and Surveillance, Defence Systems and Mission Systems - has improved in comparison to the equivalent period in 2009, remaining at a similar level to the first half of 2010.

The Group's commercial markets remain stable, but fragile. However, the Group continues to experience delays and deferrals in the award of certain US defence and security contracts. Taken together, organic revenue in the Technology Divisions was slightly down on the first nine months of 2009, and it is now unlikely that a significant increase in organic revenue growth for the full year will be achieved. The Aviation Services Division has continued to deliver good organic growth.

Given the uncertainty over growth in the fourth quarter, the Board recognises that the Group could make only limited underlying progress in the full year, benefiting from cost efficiencies already made under the first phase of the Excellence in Delivery programme.

The recently announced UK National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review and emphasis on countering terrorism and the critical need for technology provides additional support to Cobham's strategy. The Group's focus on developing and maintaining leading positions in critical, high technology defence and security, and commercial markets, together with the delivery of the Excellence in Delivery programme and the Group's other strategic objectives, reinforces the Board's confidence of continuing progress over the medium term.

Operational Update

The Excellence in Delivery programme remains on track and, as previously announced, very significant cost savings are expected over the next 3 years, with the anticipated efficiencies of £10m accruing in 2010. A detailed presentation on the programme will be made at an investor day on 30 November 2010.

Cobham has announced a number of material events and transactions since the end of the first half of 2010, including:

·; A US$26m order in July received by the Defence Systems Division for ROVIS (AN/VIC-3) digital vehicular intercom systems for the US Army, with all deliveries to be made by the end of 2010;

·; Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts for the Defence Systems Division with the US Missile Defence Agency announced in July and October for infrastructure and deployment, and engineering and test, with release of the first task orders expected before the end of 2010. These contracts, which are worth up to US$565m and US$1,619m respectively over 5 years, provide a substantial position from which to expand the existing long-term relationship with this customer;

·; A US$18m first year award of a 5-year long term agreement received by the Mission Systems Division in August from the US Air Force to provide crew-breathing regulator overhaul kits;

·; A product damages award against the Group, announced in September, of €37m before tax, resulting in an October payment of £32m. A partial insurance recovery of £4m was also received in October;

·; The divestment of Cobham Maintenance and Overhaul (MRO) in France, part of the Avionics and Surveillance Division, in September for a cash consideration of €8m. This transaction is consistent with the strategy of actively managing the portfolio of businesses to focus on scale positions and of reducing the number of small operating sites;

·; In September, the Group announced the closure of the Avionics and Surveillance Division SATCOM facility in Michigan, USA with integration into an existing facility in Florida, USA.

Cobham has also recently reached agreement to sell part of the Mission Systems Division site in Wimborne, UK for £9m, ahead of the move into a more compact, purpose built facility that is nearing completion on the site. Completion of the sale is expected in December.

Financial Position

Net debt had decreased to £319m at the end of September (30 June: £373m) as a result of strong operating cash conversion in the period and favourable exchange movements, as most of Cobham's debt is US dollar denominated as a natural hedge against assets and earnings denominated in dollars.

Cobham's preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2010 will be announced on 3 March 2011.

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ENQUIRIES

Cobham plc

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

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

Julian Wais, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0)1628 498004 (on 3 November)

+44 (0)1202 857998 (after 3 November)

Brunswick

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

NOTES

1. Cobham's products and services have been at the heart of sophisticated military and civil systems for more than 75 years, keeping people safe, improving communications, and enhancing the capability of land, sea, air and space platforms. The Company has four divisions employing some 12,000 people on five continents, with customers and partners in over 100 countries and annual revenue of some £1.9bn / $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.