CONTRACTS
TECOM Industries, Inc.—Announced that they have been selected by Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, to develop and manufacture the mid-land high-band receive-and-transmit antennas for the ADM160B Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) program.
The MALD is a new effects-based approach to counter-air operations to neutralize enemy air defenses. MALD can replicate manned aircraft combat flight profiles and radar signatures of US aircraft, diverting enemy air defense resources to engage the decoys to leave manned aircraft less vulnerable.
Lockheed Martin—Has been selected to provide a Tactical Reconnaissance and Counter-Concealment Enabled Radar (TRACER) capability to the US Army. Under this contract, Lockheed Martin will work with the Army to incorporate low-frequency synthetic aperture radar systems into Predator class unmanned aerial vehicles. The total value of the TRACER contract is approximately $40 million.
General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies—Has been awarded an order under the World Wide Satellite Services contract to provide Ku-band on-the-move satellite-communications terminals to the US Army. Under this order, General Dynamics will provide a single Warrior Model 20-20 Satcom-on-the-Move™ (SOTM) antenna system for verification and testing, with additional purchases to follow successful tests. The total potential value of the award if all options are exercised is $28 million over three years.
The General Dynamics-designed and -manufactured equipment transmits and receives data at speeds of up to 1.54 Mb/s in Ku-band, giving unit commanders robust satellite communications in moving vehicles, providing unequaled mobile access to a broad spectrum of information services including video, data, and imagery. The terminals track satellites very accurately using as combination of integral satellite-beacon receivers, gyro stabilization, and inertial measurement units.
The contract was awarded through PM Warfighter Information Network-Tactical under the contracting authority of the Communications and Electronics Command, Ft. Monmouth, NJ.
Herley Industries, Inc.—Announced that its Herley Lancaster division in Lancaster, PA has been awarded a contract by a major prime contractor to provide microwave electronic components for a US Military helicopter radar system.
FRESH STARTS
UMC—Recently held the grand-opening ceremony for its new R&D center for nanometer technologies to coincide with the company's 27th anniversary. The facility, which will focus on R&D for advanced nanometer technologies for 300-mm manufacturing, is located adjacent to 300mm Fab 12A at UMC's Tainan Science Park site. The R&D center will be staffed with over 1000 employees when fully operational, most of which will consist of R&D engineers.
The R&D center occupies a nearly 6000-sq.-meter area of UMC's 155,660-sq.-meter Tainan site. The ten-story building features independent cleanroom R&D areas for the continued development of 45nm and below advanced process technologies, as well as restaurants and a fully equipped recreational center for employees.
QUALCOMM, Inc.—Announced that its board of directors has approved a new $3.0 billion stock-repurchase program to replace its previous $2.5 billion stock-repurchase program, which had $865 million of remaining availability.
Gowanda Electronics—Announced that the company is now registered as conforming to AS9100 quality management standard. Certification was granted by NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR) after completion of an audit earlier this year.
Antenova Ltd.—Has expanded its Asia operations with the opening of a sales and support office in Shanghai, China. Antenova further announced plans for additional design, sales, and support locations in the region.
Rubicon Technology—Announced that it will increase its manufacturing capacity with the addition of 30,000 sq. ft. of new production space. The new facility, located in the Chicago area, will complement Rubicon's existing 80,000-plus sq. ft. operation.
Interconnect Devices, Inc. (IDI)—Was acquired by Milestone Partners and IDI Management. Milestone Partners, based in St. David, PA, is a private equity firm which partners with management teams to invest in leveraged buyouts of middle-market businesses.
Rick Thompson, president of IDI, announced that the company will remain in Kansas City, KS at its present location at 5101 Richland Ave. All of IDI's assets, employees and the officers will continue to operate in their present capacity.
Aleron, Inc.—Announced the opening of Aleron Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd., the company's new product-oriented research and development (R&D) facility in Pune, India.
The focus of the R&D center will be to continue to develop the company's patented UWB chip sets, such as the AL4000, for the next generation of products.
Ansoft Corp.—Was added to the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600 index, effective after the close of trading today.
The S&P SmallCap 600 is a core component of the A&P US index series and is widely used by private investors and professional money managers alike for building diversified equity portfolios of US growth stocks.
AR RF/Microwave Instrumentation—A new 15,000-sq.-ft. building has been completed at the site of AR's worldwide headquarters in Souderton, PA.
The three-story building houses the accounting department, customer service, and a new machine shop on the first floor; expanded production facilities on the second floor; and meeting room and a kitchen on the third floor.
Provigent—Announced that Stata Venture Partners will contribute funding to Provigent's fourth round of financing, which will increase to $17 million.