What is "racal"

Racal Electronics plc was once the third-largest British electronics firm.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange and once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, Racal was a diversified company, offering products including: voice loggers and data recorders; point of sale terminals; laboratory instruments; military electronics, including radio and radar. At its height, it operated throughout 110 countries worldwide and employed over 30,000 people. It was the parent company of Vodafone, before the mobile telephony provider was sold in 1991.

Racal was purchased by Thomson-CSF (now Thales Group) in 2000, thereby giving the French firm access to the lucrative UK defence and armaments market.