I believe they lost the plot somewhat by taking on the Nimrod Conversionsand it seems, more latterly, the A330.
In what way did Cobham lose the plot? It was not Cobham's fault that BAe decided to take the Nimrod work back in-house at Woodford after they had shut the RJX line there.
As the major supplier of in-flight refueling equipment the Voyager contract made a lot of sense. What did not make sense was Cobham suddenly deciding they did not want it anymore and virtually handing it to Airbus.