BAE Seeks OK to Bid for Parts of TRW

BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defense contractor, asked the Pentagon for permission to bid on parts of TRW Inc., the target of an $11.9-billion unsolicited offer from Northrop Grumman Corp.

BAE’s overture, first reported by The Times in February, tests the Bush administration’s enthusiasm for transatlantic defense mergers.

Pentagon acquisitions chief Edward “Pete” Aldridge told BAE executives of significant concerns about broadening access to TRW’s spy satellite technology even as he signaled a willingness to review a bid, a defense official said.