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| Formerly | Flight Refuelling Limited |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Aerospace, defence |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Headquarters | Bournemouth, England, UK |
| Revenue | 1,590,000,000 United States dollar (2018)  |
| Owner | Advent International |
| Website | cobham.com |
Cobham Limited is a British aerospace manufacturing company based in Bournemouth, England.[1]
Cobham was originally founded by Sir Alan Cobham as Flight Refuelling Limited (FRL) in 1934. During 1939, British airline Imperial Airways performed several non-stop crossings of the Atlantic using equipment provided by FRL. During the late 1940s, the company's aerial refuelling equipment broke new ground, including a round-the-world flight by specially-equipped Boeing B-50 Superfortresses in 1948 and the demonstration of the now-widely used 'probe and drogue' method of air-to-air refuelling for the first time in 1949.[2] A wide range of aircraft have since been equipped with Cobham's refuelling equipment.
The company has grown and diversified into various markets, often through acquisitions. Michael Cobham, Alan's son, took over its leadership during 1969. During 1994, the firm was formally renamed Cobham plc; by this point, the company had in excess of 10,000 employees and had operations in North America, Europe, Malaysia and South Africa. In January 2020, the company was acquired by American private equity firm Advent International for £4 billion and Cobham Mission Systems was sold to Eaton in June 2021 for $2.83 billion.
- ^ "Cobham, Home". www.cobham.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Cobham timelinewas invoked but never defined (see the help page).