Aegis Defence Services is a British private military company (PMC) that has offices in Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Somalia, and Mozambique. The company itself is actually part of a larger company called the Aegis Group of companies which includes Aegis LLC and Aegis Defence Systems.
Aegis Defence Services was founded in 2002 by Tim Spicer who had previously been the CEO of private Sandline International, a private military company. The company saw quick success due to large amounts of funding from several key investors, allowing it to expand quickly.
Aegis Defence Services really peaked thanks to contracts from Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, Aegis has a contract worth 293 million, although it is believed that contract is coming due in late 2021. The contract is to provide security support services to the State Department of Defence, specifically to the Project and Contracting Office which is responsible for the management of the reconstruction program. Essentially, Aegis Defence Services was responsible for providing security details to office and US Army Corps of Engineers. In May of 2011, when the US military pulled out of Baghdad, Aegis Defence Services was further rewarded with more work to fill in the void. At the same time, the US Department of State awarded a $497 million contract to Aegis Defence Services to provide security at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul Afghanistan.
The company has also been involved with the UN assisting with their Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD) and the Independent High Electoral Commission (IECEI) which facilitates constitutional referendums and elections. Aegis Defence Services adds additional revenue through winning smaller security contracts from around the world. As a result it is believed the company currently employees about 20,000 operators/mercenaries.
In October 2015, Aegis Defence Services was bought out by Canadian security company, GardaWorld. It continues to operate under the name of Aegis Defence Services.
