Armor Holdings Inc. said Aug. 2 that a bankruptcy court has approved the company's previously announced acquisition of Second Chance Body Armor. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings, which produces vehicle armor and security products, said last week that it had purchased Second Chance at auction for $45 million (DAILY, July 28). The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Michigan, OK'd the sale.
Curtiss-Wright will produce components of the Stryker Mobile Gun System for General Dynamics Land Systems under a $4 million contract, the company said Aug. 2. Curtiss-Wright will produce the Autoloader Controller, Replenisher Controller and Turret System Electronic Unit for the gun system through its Motion Control segment in Santa Clarita, Calif. Deliveries are to be completed by November 2006, the company said.
Lord Corp., which makes mounts, bearings, dampers and other equipment for aircraft noise and vibration control, is expanding its Dayton, Ohio facility, the company said Aug. 2. The $3.8 million expansion will add 38,000 square feet to the existing 90,000-square-foot building, one of the main manufacturing sites for the company's aerospace and defense products.
Net sales and net income for Cleveland-based Hawk Corp., which builds specialized components for aerospace and other industries, grew in both the second quarter and first six months of 2005, the company said Aug. 2. Net sales were $70.9 million in the second quarter of 2005, compared with $63.4 million for the same period the year before, an 11.8% increase. Second quarter 2005 net income climbed 13.3%, to $1.7 million, compared with $1.5 million the year before.
BOWING OUT: China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) announced Aug. 2 that it withdrew its bid to buy Unocal Corp. due to "the political environment in the U.S." The mostly state-owned company, China's largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas, trumpeted its offer but added that the deal's success was unsure because of maneuvering on Capitol Hill by China critics looking to harden the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) against such proposals (DAILY, July 25).
TPI Composites Inc. will help develop three lighter and more durable all-composite Humvees under a $4.5 million contract awarded by the U.S. Army, the company said Aug. 2. Working with AM General Corp., which manufactures Humvees, TPI will aim to significantly cut the vehicles' weight, improve their durability and mobility, and provide maximum armor protection, the company said.
(Editor's note: The following is excerpted from written responses by Ronald M. Sega, nominated by President Bush to be undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force, to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee. He testified July 28 and was confirmed by the Senate on July 29.) Q: If confirmed what would your goals be for Air Force transformation?
After five successful tests, the Long-Range Land Attack Projectile for the Advanced Gun System onboard the U.S. Navy's planned future destroyer essentially has proven itself, the industry team behind it said Aug. 2. "The guided flight-test series has conclusively demonstrated the projectile's ability to use an inertial measurement unit with in-flight updates from a Global Positioning System to extend range while simultaneously achieving precision-strike lethality," said a joint statement from the team.
ENDORSED: President Bush should recess appoint Gordon England as deputy secretary of defense, says Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The committee favorably reported England's nomination on July 29, and Warner said a pension insurance issue that has held up the nomination will be worked out. England is the acting deputy secretary now.
The HMS Daring, first in a new class of anti-air destroyers being built by the United Kingdom, is being assembled in anticipation of its February launch, BAE Systems said. The ship will be the first Type 45 destroyer and is designed for anti-air warfare. HMS Daring recently received its Long Range Radar antenna and mast module, which was developed by BAE Systems for the new class. The Long Range Radar will undergo two months of integration testing by the Type 45 Combat Systems Agency before the ship is complete.
Pratt & Whitney Space Propulsion recently completed building a new hypersonic Ground Demonstration Engine that represents the culmination of a nine-year, $58 million effort funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the company announced Aug. 1. Known as GDE-2, the new engine is part of AFRL's HySET (Hydrocarbon Scramjet Engine Technology) program. It features a variable geometry inlet and simulates "the configuration of a reusable access-to-space or global-reach propulsion system," the company said.
Alliant Techsystems will produce M212 countermeasure flares for the U.S. Army's Advanced Infrared Countermeasure Munitions Program under a $6.7 million contract, the company said Aug. 2.
While recent debate on U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft has focused on replacing the aging KC-135 Stratotanker, a general said Aug. 2 that the service also should look at supplementing its large-tanker fleet of KC-10 Extenders.
SALES, NET INCOME UP: EDAC Technologies Corp., which designs and builds tools, fixtures and jet engines for the aerospace industry, reported Aug. 2 that its sales for the second quarter and first six months of 2005 climbed while net income quadrupled. Second quarter sales were $8.8 million, compared with $8.7 million for the same period in 2004, while net income zoomed from $264,000 to $1.3 million. The second quarter of 2005 included an income tax benefit of $787,000.
REVENUE GAINS: Information technology services firm SRA International Inc. reported big gains in fourth quarter and fiscal year 2005 revenue for the period ending June 30. Fourth quarter revenue jumped 33% to $241.1 million, up from $180.9 million for the same period in FY 2004. Revenue for all of FY 2005 soared to $881.8 million from $615.8 million, a 43% increase, the company said Aug 1.
Iridium Satellite's total number of subscribers grew by 20% over the past year, reaching 127,000 as of June 30, according to the company. The new total is up 11% from the 114,000 subscribers the company had signed up by the end of 2004. "Through the first six months of this year, Iridium met or exceeded its targets for subscribers, revenue and profitability," Iridium Chairman and CEO Carmen Lloyd said in a statement.
NAVAL GUN: BAE Systems, which recently bought United Defense Industries, said its first 57mm Mk 110 Naval Gun system for the U.S. Coast Guard's future National Security Cutter will be delivered in January 2006, with the second gun following in December 2006. The gun fires 220 rounds a minute and has a range of up to nine miles. BAE Systems said Aug. 1 that Northrop Grumman Corp., prime contractor on the Coast Guard's Deepwater recapitalization along with Lockheed Martin Corp., had awarded it a contract for the second gun.
QUICK CONFIRMATIONS: On its last day before adjourning for August, the Senate on July 29 confirmed several new Pentagon leaders, including the undersecretary of the Air Force. Ronald Sega will fill the position as soon as he is sworn into office, although a Pentagon spokeswoman told The DAILY she did not know when that would occur. Meanwhile, Air Force Lt. Gen. Norton Schwartz was confirmed to receive his fourth star and take over the Transportation Command, as well as become Air Force vice chief (DAILY, Aug. 1). Other confirmations included Marine Corps Lt. Gen.
Sales were up but earnings were down in the second quarter of fiscal 2005 for Colorado-based Ball Corp., although the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. division was a bright spot, Ball said July 28.
