Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, the septuagenarian chairman and chief executive of Finmeccanica, has a plan. He has transformed the Italian industrial holding company into a focused aerospace and defence group by selling non-core assets and making sensible acquisitions. Tuesday’s agreed cash offer for US group DRS Technologies for an enterprise value of €3.4bn is the latest step in an evolution that has seen Finmeccanica’s market capitalisation triple to €9bn since late 2002.

The strategic rationale for the DRS deal is clear. International expansion ultimately means building a presence in the US – it buys half the world’s arms. Recent successes there, notably the contract to supply the president’s helicopters, have been encouraging. But an established business, with the Department of Defense relationships it brings, is necessary to progress.