Royal Ordnance

Royal Ordnance plc was formed on 2 January 1985 as a public corporation, owning the majority of the remaining United Kingdom government-owned Royal Ordnance Factories, which manufactured explosives, ammunition, small arms including the Lee-Enfield rifle, guns and military vehicles such as tanks. It owned some 16 factories and employed about 19,000 staff. Royal Ordnance plc was bought by British Aerospace in April 1987, which became BAE Systems in 1999; the Royal Ordnance name was retained for almost twenty years before being dropped in 2004.