Aeroflex Inc. was an American company which produced test equipment, RF and microwave integrated
circuits, components and systems used for wireless communications. Its headquarters were located in
Plainview,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
In May 2014, Aeroflex was acquired by the UK aerospace company
Cobham for $1.46 billion.
Overview
Aeroflex consisted of Aeroflex Microelectronic Solutions (AMS), a
fabless
Fabless manufacturing is the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing their fabrication (or ''fab'') to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry. These foundries are typically, but not exclus ...
manufacturer of
rad-hard and high reliability semiconductor devices, and Aeroflex Test Solutions (ATS), which produced
electronic test equipment
Electronic test equipment is used to create signals and capture responses from electronic devices under test (DUTs). In this way, the proper operation of the DUT can be proven or faults in the device can be traced. Use of electronic test equipmen ...
.
History
In 2002, Aeroflex acquired IFR Systems Inc, a test equipment manufacturer from
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
, originally founded in 1937. In 1998, IFR previously acquired
Marconi Instruments
Marconi Instruments Limited (MI) was a British company, one of the Marconi group of companies, formerly part of GEC. Originally formed in 1936, there was a buyout of Marconi-Ekco Instruments to form the company Marconi Instruments in 1941.
Th ...
, a British test equipment manufacturer.
In 2007, Aeroflex was taken private by a group of
private equity firm
A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...
s including Veritas Capital, Golden Gate Capital, GS Direct.
In 2008, Aeroflex acquired Gaisler Research, a designer of rad-hard
IP for space applications, including the open source
LEON
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...
processor.
In 2009, Aeroflex acquired
VI Technology, a test automation company.
In 2010, Aeroflex acquired Willtek, a test equipment manufacturer from
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. Willtek was split from another company which previously acquired
Wavetek
Wavetek was an electronic test equipment manufacturer that made function generators, signal generators and service monitors. Although Wavetek did not invent the function generator, it made them commercially popular. The company's swept RF/microwa ...
.
In 2010, Aeroflex acquired Radiation Assured Devices of
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
and changes its name to Aeroflex RAD.
In 2010, Aeroflex announced an initial public offering of 17.25 million shares.
[Aeroflex Press Release; November 5, 2010.](_blank)
/ref>
In FY 2010, AMS and ATS contributed almost equally to net sales. The majority of sales, particularly for AMS, are in the space, avionics, and defense markets.
In May 2014, Aeroflex was acquired by the UK aerospace company Cobham for $1.46 billion.
In March 2018, Viavi Solutions
Viavi Solutions (stylized VIAVI Solutions), formerly part of JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU), is an American network test, measurement and assurance technology company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company manufactures testing and monitorin ...
purchased Cobham AvComm and Wireless Test and Measurement, which were previously part of Aeroflex, for $455 million. These business units will continue using the name Aeroflex until March 2021.
Aeroflex Colorado Springs
Aeroflex Colorado Springs was a division which manufactured integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
s for the aerospace, defense, medical, industrial, and security markets. It was located in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
. Aeroflex mixed-signal ASIC
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficien ...
s and standard products containing data acquisition, communication, and processing circuits are supplied for uses such as medical imaging, safety-critical industrial, point-of-sale
The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoic ...
, and secure data processing systems. Circuit card assembly was also available.
Legal actions
In 2013, the US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
settled with Aeroflex Incorporated over alleged violations of the Arms Export Control Act
The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (Title II of , codified at ) gives the President of the United States the authority to control the import and export of defense articles and defense services. The H.R. 13680 legislation was passed by the 94th ...
("AECA")(22 U.S.C. § 2778) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is a United States regulatory regime to restrict and control the export of defense and military related Military technology, technologies to safeguard National security of the United States, U.S. ...
("ITAR")(22 C.F.R. parts 120-130). The settlement was reached relative to ITAR Section 128.11 wherein Aeroflex entered into a consent agreement with the State Department. Based on this settlement, Aeroflex paid a civil penalty of $4 million, and the State Department waived an additional $4 million penalty on the “condition the Department approves expenditures for self-initiated, pre-Consent Agreement remedial compliance measures and Consent Agreement-authorized remedial compliance costs.” Aeroflex voluntarily disclosed most of the ITAR violations resolved in this settlement, “acknowledged their serious nature, cooperated with Department reviews, and since 2008 has implemented or has planned extensive remedial measures, including the restructuring of its compliance organization, the institution of a new testing protocol of its commodities, and a revised company-wide ITAR compliance program,” according to the State Department. According to a Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
special report, while the State Department’s investigation was underway, Aeroflex exported more than 7,000 high-tech rad-chips to China, between 2003 and 2008, after US officials had directed the company to stop the exports.[Reuters, “How China's weapon snatchers are penetrating U.S. defenses,” Dec. 17, 2013, https://www.reuters.com/investigates/china-military/#article/part3]
Products
;AMS Group
* Hi-rel MSI integrated circuits
* RF and microwave discretes
* Mixed signal and digital ASIC
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficien ...
s
* Motion control
;ATS Group
* Wireless communications test (the TM500 LTE test system was Aeroflex's top-selling product in FY 2010[)
* ]Avionics
Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...
test
* Signal generators
* Spectrum/signal analyzers
;ATE Group
* Incircuit test systems
* AOI
* Functional Test platform
See also
* Electronic test equipment
Electronic test equipment is used to create signals and capture responses from electronic devices under test (DUTs). In this way, the proper operation of the DUT can be proven or faults in the device can be traced. Use of electronic test equipmen ...
* Harvey R. Blau
Harvey R. Blau (November 14, 1935 – January 19, 2018) was an Americans, American Lawyer, attorney and business executive. He was the Chairman of the Board and former CEO of Griffon Corporation (formerly Instrument Systems Corporation). He becam ...
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.aeroflex.com
Cobham Gaisler AB
IFR Systems
- archived on May 27, 2002
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Electronic test equipment manufacturers
Companies based in Nassau County, New York
Plainview, New York
Economy of Wichita, Kansas
Economy of San Diego
Defunct manufacturing companies based in New York (state)