11 Dec 02. Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC – News) on Wednesday completed its $6.7bn purchase of TRW Inc. (NYSE:TRW – News) after the U.S. government filed an antitrust agreement with a federal judge, and shareholders of both companies voted to approve the deal. The Justice Department said it approved the deal after concluding a consent decree with Northrop that requires the Los Angeles-based company to abide by restrictions to ensure continued competition for reconnaissance satellite systems.It does not require any divestments. Northrop announced in late afternoon that it had closed the deal and TRW was now a wholly-owned subsidiary. The news came after separate votes by shareholders of both companies to approve the merger.
6 Dec 02. ITT Industries Inc. (NYSE:ITT – News) reaffirmed 2002 earnings and revenue guidance and provided a first-time outlook for 2003 which calls for per- share earnings growth of 1% to 7%. The company said it also plans to boost its annual dividend by 7% to 64 cents a share, effective April 2003, pending board approval. The company said it expects 2002 earnings to rise 4% to 6% to a range of $3.63 to $3.68 a share, before the benefit of one-time items, which are expected to add 34 cents a share.
11 Dec 02. Officials from Boeing (NYSE: BA – News) and the Italian Ministry of Defense have signed the final contract for four new 767 Tanker Transport aircraft and five years of contractor logistics support.
9 Dec 02. After a competitive bidding process, the Danish Army Material Command has awarded Thales Communications B.V. in Huizen, the Netherlands, a contract for the delivery of vehicle intercom systems worth approximately €15m. This system called SotasM2 will be installed in some 1000 military vehicles. This contract is awarded after the system was submitted to 4 months of extensive field testing.
5 Dec 02. Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT – News) won a contract that could be worth up to nearly $1bn for engineering services on AEGIS combat systems on U.S. guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, the U.S. Navy said Thursday. The initial contract was for $53.5m, the service said. It contains options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $977.2m, the Navy said.
9 Dec 02. Israel’s Tadiran Communications (Tel Aviv:TDCM.TA – News) said on Monday it received a contract worth $13.2m from an unnamed Latin American country. The contract, for the supply of high-frequency tactical communications equipment, will be delivered by the end of the year. Tadiran is 42 percent held by Shamrock Holdings of California Inc, the investment arm of Disney heir Roy Disney.
12 Dec 02. The Boeing Company has selected Smiths Aerospace to supply the refuelling boom control actuation system for the 767 Tanker Transport. The agreement will generate more than $14m in sales for Smiths Aerospace. Manufacturing development will commence immediately with initial deliveries on aircraft scheduled for delivery to Italy and Japan in 2005.
11 Dec 02. Raytheon Co.’s (NYSE:RTN – News) Chief Financial Officer Frank Caine resigned on Wednesday, weeks after being sanctioned by regulators, further shaking up the company as it struggles to keep up with high-flying rival defense contractors.
11 Dec 02. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected BAE SYSTEMS to lead the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) phase for its Adaptive Joint C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, and Computer, Intelligence and Reconnaissance) Node (AJCN) program. DARPA budgeted the program at $60m over a five-year period. BAE SYSTEMS Information & Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) in Nashua, New Hampshire, received initial funding of $3.9m on Nov. 25 as prime contractor for the program. IEWS will provide management and systems engineering leadership and will lead the signals intelligence, electronic attack and systems integration efforts.
11 Dec 02 . Tadiran Spectralink Ltd., a member of the E