NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 10, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'BBB' senior unsecured rating to BAE Systems PLC's £1.5 billion revolving credit facility maturing in February 2010. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its ratings, including the 'BBB' corporate credit rating, on the company. Outstanding debt is about £2.6 billion. The outlook is stable. Farnborough, U.K.-based BAE Systems is a major supplier of military aircraft, defense electronics, submarines and surface combatants for the Royal Navy, support services, information technology, and aerostructures. It has strong competitive positions in the global defense market, an industry with generally favorable credit characteristics, and good liquidity, offset by low profitability and a sizable pension deficit.
