ORBITAL SCIENCES CORP.'s Canadian subsidiary, MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., completed its IPO. The shares, listed under MDA, began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday morning. The 6 million share deal, priced at $9.50 a share, raised about $57 million. MDA issued 4 million primary shares, while Orbital, which retains a 55% stake in MDA post-IPO, and other private investors sold 1.5 million and 500,000 shares, respectively.
The U.S. Navy has made "some progress" in improving ship self-defense capabilities since a 1996 assessment, but most ships continue to have only limited defenses against cruise missiles, the General Accounting Office said in a report released yesterday. "Unless the Navy can improve the self-defense capabilities of its surface ships, these ships will be increasingly vulnerable to cruise missile threats when they operate in coastal waters," the GAO said.
Spectrolab ratcheted up the efficiency level on its next generation satellite solar cell to 29%, exceeding the its former record of 27% and potentially increasing revenues of satellite owners and operators. "This latest achievement enables Spectrolab to provide the most efficient solar cell and solar panel technology in high volume with low risk and at an affordable price," said David Lillington, acting president of the Sylmar, Calif., company.
Successful launch early yesterday of Russia's Zvezda Service Module for the International Space Station will be followed by two weeks of checks, tests and orbital adjustments as the 42,000-pound, 43-foot-long segment is prepared for a July 26 docking with two other components already in orbit.
ICO-Teledesic Global Limited says it has raised more than $1 billion from top international investors, including Eagle River, Clayton, Dubilier&Rice, Inc. (CD&R) and Microsoft's Bill Gates. CD&R, a private equity investor, plans to invest $350 million of one of its managed funds in Craig McCaw's satellite communications scheme. CD&R will contribute $150 million and retain an option to invest the remaining $200 million later. CD&R operating partner George W.
The latest version of the unmanned prototype X-38 Crew Return Vehicle, designed to glide Space Station astronauts safely to earth in case of an emergency, arrived yesterday at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., from Johnson Space Center, Tex., where it underwent modifications. The vehicle was carried by Johnson's Super Guppy cargo plane.
The U.S. Army this summer will pick an Interim Armored Vehicle (IAV), one of several key pieces of equipment it will use after it completes its ten-year transformation into a more deployable, agile and versatile force. "The Interim Armored Vehicle selection process is ongoing as we speak," said Maj. Gen. Robert St. Onge, director of strategy, plans and policy for the Army.
ALCOA INDUSTRIAL COMPONENTS, Greenwich, Conn., tapped James R. Stanley to be president and CEO of its Howmet Castings unit, effective July 10. Stanley, 58, succeeds David L. Squier who has headed Howmet for the last eight years. Squier, who has served Howmet for more than 28 years, will remain with the company in an advisory capacity through October to support Howmet's transition to an Alcoa business unit. Stanley had been senior VP and chief operating officer of Howmet. He has also held executive positions at Textron Inc.
The U.S. Army, aiming to make itself lighter and more mobile, is constructing the building blocks that will ultimately allow it to deploy a brigade in 96 hours, a division in 120 hours and five divisions in 30 days, Army officials said.
Senate leaders said yesterday that they're still struggling to find a way to bring up two bills dealing with China: one that would establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with the country and another that would punish it for spreading weapons of mass destruction.
ESCO Electronics Corp. changed its name to ESCO Technologies Inc. to reflect its key technology foundation and move away from the characterization as a defense contractor. ESCO holds 150 patents on proprietary products and has over 100 patents pending. Proprietary product sales are outpacing overall sales, and the trend is expected to continue. New products, in conjunction with acquisitions, should lead to strong, sustained earnings growth for the company, said Dennis J. Moore, chairman and CEO. ESCO's trading symbol (ESE) will not change.
ARINC Inc. has won a competition to build and modify maintenance training devices (MTDs) for the U.S. Air Force's C-5 airlifters. The work will be carried out under a contract from Lockheed Martin. The trainers will incorporate upgrades of the C-5 Avionics Modernization Program, for which Lockheed Martin is the prime integrating contractor. ARINC, based in Annapolis, Md., said it was chosen by Lockheed Martin because of "the excellence of its technical proposal and its in-depth experience on current C-5 MTDs)."
Software Technology Inc., a unit of Exigent International, won a software engineering services contract for the U.S. Air Force's Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High program from Lockheed Martin Management Data Systems.
PRATT&WHITNEY announced the appointment of Walter N. Bylciw as executive vice president, Military Engine Programs, for Pratt&Whitney Military Engines. Bylciw had been senior VP, F119 Propulsion Engineering and Program Management, overseeing the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter engine programs. In his new expanded role he retains this responsibility, and will also lead all developmental and operational large military engine programs and serve in the Office of the President, Military Engines.
The U.S. Air Force declared Orbital Sciences Corp.'s TSX-5 satellite, a key component of the Tri-Service Experiments Mission 5, fully functional two weeks ahead of the scheduled 30-day in-orbit period.
Boeing, CFM International and Rolls-Royce are facing a multi-billion dollar antitrust suit from a California company claiming the manufacturers conspired to kill a 727 reengining program. The company, Aviation Upgrade Technologies Inc. (AUT), says in a suit that it had tentative deals with CFM and Rolls-Royce to supply engines for a program to retrofit up to 700 727-200s. The reworked jets would have had two new engines and upgraded avionics and would have been sold at $24 million each.
Northrop Grumman Corp. will upgrade the B-52H bomber's AN/ALQ-155 electronic countermeasures system under a $2.1 million U.S. Air Force contract that could be worth a total of $180 million over the next six to ten years, the company said yesterday. The upgraded system will integrate hardware and software from the AN/ALQ-135, AN/ALQ-165 and other ECM systems to improve reliability and maintainability, while enhancing capabilities to counter modern threats, said Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector.
Defense Secretary William Cohen says the Defense Dept. is responding to congressional concerns about the Joint Strike Fighter by "intensifying its commitment to thorough evaluation and testing" before entering the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase.
Boeing yesterday reported delivery 167 commercial jet transports in the second quarter, some of which had been delayed due to the strike earlier this year by its engineers. "As promised, by the end of the second quarter, we have essentially recovered from the strike," said CEO Phil Condit. Production rate for Next-Generation 737s is helping the recovery. Boeing announced June 29 that it would increase from the current 24 per month to 28 per month with deliveries in the third quarter of 2001.
Export control reform and increased transatlantic cooperation are central to U.S. military planning, Deputy Defense Secretary Rudy de Leon said yesterday. "At the end of the day ... the lesson of the 21st century is that we're going to have to be interoperable with our allies," he said at a conference in Arlington, Va. "We're going to have to work together, train together, so we can fight together, and at the heart of that will be the acquisition of equipment."
RAYTHEON CO. has won a $34.7 million contract from Norway's Kongsberg Defense&Aerospace to provide radars and missile interface electronic kits for four Surface-Launched AMRAAM air defense fire units for the Spanish Air Force.
CORRECTION: An item in the "E-News" section of the July 7 DAILY (page 21) should have said that Avolo signed up 13 new commercial airline operators in June, bringing total airline clients to 26. Andrew Fedak, Avolo's founder and CEO, says the company is adding several per week. He says Avolo is now running more than $1 million worth of business, up from $600,000 as of June 22.
LOCKHEED MARTIN INFORMATION SYSTEMS won a $277 million, six-year contract to run combat aircrew training and mission rehearsals for U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command and Air Education Training Command. "Our commitment to leverage new technology and commonality across similar programs, including the C-130 Aircrew Training System, delivers more value to our customers while reducing cost," said Lockheed Martin Information Systems President John Hallal.
