SELEX
| Registered office | Italy - Rome |
|---|---|
| Other branches | Basildon (UK) |
| Industries | Arms Industry, Electronics |
| Categories | surveillance, border fortification, major player |
| Sources | Unspecified |
| Website | https://selex.com/en |
About the company
Selex evolved after an attempt to merge the electronics divisions of defense groups BAE Systems (UK) and Leonardo/Finmeccanica (IT). Following the exit of BAE Systems, Selex was eventually established as a subsidiary of Finmeccanica. Selex was one of those companies that lobbied most intensively for the technological upgrade of the borders in the first decade of the century, thus opening up a new foothold for the European defense industry.
Contribution to the EU border regime
During the decisive phase, Selex provided the vice chairman of the lobby organization European Organisation for Security (EOS) as well as the chairman of its working group on "border surveillance". Accordingly, Selex also benefited extensively from research funding from the EU Commission. Among other things, the company led the SEABILLA project from 2010 to 2014, which was intended to help implement the "Integrated Border Management" developed by Frontex which aims at monitoring the coasts. In addition toBAE Systems, Indra and Safran as well as several units of the Airbus and Thales groups were involved in this project. Immediately before, Selex, together with Thales and Airbus/EADS (as well as ESG), had submitted a technical study commissioned by the EU for the implementation of the EUROSUR border surveillance system.
Already in 2009 Selex announced that it would support Libya in expanding its border surveillance for 300 million euros. In addition to the supply of technology, this included the local training of border guards. This cooperation outlasted the 2011 regime change in Libya. The transitional government there announced in 2013 that it had contracted Selex to provide satellite-based border surveillance, and the 2009 contract was also later resumed. Selex also supplied border surveillance systems to Poland in 2005 and the Finnish Coast Guard in 2011, among others. Selex has since been fully reincorporated into Leonardo, although the company continues to use the Selex brand in some industries.
Added: Jan. 11, 2024
Last update: Feb. 18, 2024, 6:48 p.m.