Heritage

 

"Many people have exploited a good idea, but not many people live to see it develop into a lasting success. Alan Cobham championed the idea of refuelling aircraft in the air, and started Flight Refuelling Limited in 1934. The Company has prospered for over 75 years, to become Cobham plc, which today is a major international aerospace and defence engineering company." - HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, KG  

 

Cobham plc's origins go back to 1934 when Sir Alan Cobham founded Flight Refuelling Limited (FRL) to investigate Air-to-Air refuelling (AAR) techniques.

 

Cobham, an innovative aviation pioneer, worked tirelessly to make flying popular with his own personal dream that "one day there would be a landing ground in every major town". More than 75 years later, with airports commonplace, the pioneering spirit continues with Cobham producing world leading products and solutions for the aerospace and defence industry.

 

Cobham's Flying Circus

 

Cobham The Man 1894-1934

Ascent by balloon and gliding were the most common forms of flight when Alan Cobham was born in late Victorian London. By the time he died supersonic travel was an everyday event and man had walked on the moon.

 

Cobham was destined to become a highly influential figure in British aviation, participating in what could be termed one of the most pivotal periods of technology development in history.

 

 

 

 

Serving in the First World War, Cobham saw the potential for aviation as a mode of transport and transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, finishing the war as an instructor. After the war he gained international recognition and a knighthood with a series of trail-blazing long-distance flights and the creation of his 'Flying Circus'.

 

 

Cobham The Company 1934-1985

 

During the 1920s and early 1930s, air refuelling was only used to assist in setting flight endurance records. The formation of Flight Refuelling Ltd on October 29 1934 allowed serious consideration to be given to its wider application. This led, in 1939, to non-stop crossings of the Atlantic, but it was not until the post-war adoption of air refuelling by the United States Air Force and, in 1949, the company's invention of the probe and drogue method of contact, that its full potential was realised.

 

Cobham's organisation, having established itself as a world leader in fuel system design and component manufacture, then exercised a policy of internal growth and gradual acquisition.

 

As an airframe maintainer and operator, the company was also able to diversify in to maintaining military aircraft on behalf of the Royal Air Force, modifying aircraft for specialist roles even in to design and production of target airframes and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

 

With continuous development of the probe and drogue refuelling system, Cobham's equipment was to prove of fundamental importance in the defence of both the United Kingdom and the United States throughout the Cold War and beyond.

 

New Horizons 1985-2009

By the late 1980s the massive United States market held great untapped potential for Cobham. This inspired an acquisition phase in the US and beyond that is still fundamental to the Group's growth strategy.

 

Cobham developed a commanding capability in the emerging network centric battlefield, essentially focusing on moving data between intelligent, sophisticated sensors and decision makers. This part of the business has grown to include microwave components and subsystems that now serve at the heart of radar and electronic warning systems, communications and self defence for the world's military aircraft, ships and military vehicles.

 

Cobham next turned its attention to acquisitions in the related field of avionics. The portfolio grew further with a move into safety and survival systems, often serving those already employing the Group's communication equipment. Through this market Cobham is now involved in the space programs of Europe and the United States and worldwide search and rescue.

 

 

The air-to-air refuelling and weapons carriage and release capabilities of the Group went from strength to strength, and Cobham has gone on to establish an international reputation for modifying, maintaining and operating aircraft in special mission roles, as well as specialist training for the military.