BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery and support of advanced defense and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea and in space. The company designs, manufactures and supports military aircraft, surface ships, submarines, fighting vehicles, radar, avionics, communications, electronics and guided weapon systems. It is a pioneer in technology with a heritage stretching back hundreds of years. It is at the forefront of innovation, working to develop the next generation of intelligent defense systems.   BAE Systems has major operations across five continents and customers in some 130 countries. The company has more than 90,000 people and generates annual sales of approximately $25 billion through its wholly-owned and joint venture operations.   BAE Systems prime contracting capability combines key in-depth skills in systems, defense and aerospace, enabling it to manage the most complex high-level systems tasks and provide total solutions - a one-stop shop capability and service provision.   BAE Systems designs, manufactures, and supports military aircraft, surface ships, submarines, space systems, radar, avionics, C4ISR, electronic systems, guided weapons and a range of other defense products, many of these with international partners. Key skills include systems integration, complex software and hardware development and advanced manufacturing.   In aviation, the company takes a leading role in joint programs for military and civil aircraft such as Eurofighter, Joint Strike Fighter and Airbus in partnership with the world's other leading aircraft companies. For the world's navies it offers a leading ship design capability, building frigates, submarines and aircraft carriers, as well as radar, missiles, C4ISR systems and torpedoes. It is the prime contractor for the U.K. Royal Navy's new Type 45 destroyers and the Astute class nuclear-powered attack submarine.   On land, in the new digitized battlespace, company systems include radar, C4ISR networks, artillery, guided weapons and electro-optics. In space, the company has a wide range of expertise and technology in high-quality image exploitation and archiving systems for stereo photogrammetry, photointerpretation, and mapping, charting and geodesy (MC&G) applications. The company also develops, integrates, and produces test equipment for advanced electronic systems including space launch, satellites, and provides avionics systems for the Atlas and Titan launch vehicles. The company's research and development projects cover the spectrum of technologies, materials and synthetic environments, such as virtual reality and 3D modeling, that constantly extend the frontiers of performance. The high software content of the company's advanced systems means that software development is a key activity that involves more than 10,000 systems software engineers.   BAE Systems has a major presence internationally, particularly in Europe and the United States as well as in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Australia. The company has a full in-service support and logistics organization so that it can work with customers both in specifying solutions to their needs, and offering the management and operation of their facilities, as well as training, repair and overhaul of products and the provision of professional logistic support.