Stevenage  4 February 2020: Airbus has appointed Richard Franklin as the new Managing Director of Airbus Defence and Space in the UK.  He will replace Colin Paynter who is retiring later in 2020.

 

Richard who is Head of Secure Communications for the Defence and Space business, took on this additional role from 1 January 2020.  He continues to lead the Secure Communications business line which includes the UK MOD’s Skynet 5 secure military satellite communications contract as well as all secure communications activities across Airbus.

 

Airbus Defence and Space in the UK includes satellite, spacecraft and space equipment manufacture and design, military aircraft, secure communications, cybersecurity and intelligence, with principle sites in Stevenage, Portsmouth and Newport.  The business has a total workforce of nearly 4,000.

 

Prior to joining Airbus in November 2015, Richard was the Commercial and Strategy Director at G4S, and prior to that held positions at both QinetiQ and Cable and Wireless.

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