Harris Corporation was an American technology company,
defense contractor, and
information technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology syste ...
services provider that produced
wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems,
night vision equipment
A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The devi ...
and both terrestrial and spaceborne
antennas for use in the government, defense and commercial sectors. They specialized in surveillance solutions, microwave weaponry, and electronic warfare. In 2019, it merged with
L3 Technologies to form
L3Harris Technologies.
Headquartered in
Melbourne, Florida, the company had approximately $7 billion of annual revenue. It was the largest private-sector employer in
Brevard County, Florida (approximately 6,000). From 1988 to 1999, the company was the parent of
Intersil, under the name Harris Semiconductor.
In 2016, Harris was named one of the top hundred federal contractors by ''
Defense News''. In January 2015,
''Wired'' Magazine ranked Harris Corporation—tied with
U.S. Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...
—as the number two threat to privacy and communications on the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
.
History
The "Harris Automatic Press Company" was founded by Alfred S. Harris in
Niles, Ohio, in 1895. The company spent the next 60 years developing
lithograph
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
ic processes and
printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in which the ...
es before acquiring
typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random ...
company
Intertype Corporation
The Intertype Corporation produced the Intertype, a typecasting machine closely resembling the Linotype, and using the same matrices as the Linotype. It was founded in New York in 1911 by Hermann Ridder, of Ridder Publications, as the Internat ...
.
In 1957, Harris acquired
Gates Radio, a producer of
broadcast transmitters and associated electronics gear, but kept the Gates brand name alive by putting the Gates sticker on the back of numerous transmitters that were labeled Harris on the front panels.
The same year, they acquired
Intertype Corporation
The Intertype Corporation produced the Intertype, a typecasting machine closely resembling the Linotype, and using the same matrices as the Linotype. It was founded in New York in 1911 by Hermann Ridder, of Ridder Publications, as the Internat ...
, a type foundry based in
New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
In 1959, they acquired
microwave
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ra ...
technology company PRD Electronics, also headquartered in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
In 1967, they merged with Radiation Incorporated (formed in 1950) of
Melbourne, Florida, a developer of antenna,
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 ...
and
modem
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more c ...
technology used in the
space race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the t ...
. The company headquarters was moved from Cleveland to Melbourne in 1978.
In 1969, Harris Corporation acquired RF Communications and Farinon Electric Corporation, furthering its microwave assets. The printing operations were sold off in 1983 and became part of manroland Goss in 2018.
In 1974, Harris acquired
Datacraft Corporation, which led to the formation of the
Harris Computer Systems Division. The division made a line of minicomputers for the real-time systems market. In 1994, the division was spun out into the independent
Harris Computer Systems Corporation.
In 1979, Harris formed a semiconductor joint venture Matra Harris Semiconductors (MHS), from which Harris withdrew in 1989. After further changes MHS was taken over by
Atmel.
In 1983, Harris acquired Lanier Business Products, Inc., a dictation, word processing and computer company based in Atlanta, Georgia. By the start of the 1990's, Lanier accounted for about 1/3 of Harris Corporation's revenues. In 1998, Harris spun Lanier back off as a publicly-traded company, but also saddled it with over $700 million in debt.
In 1988, Harris acquired
GE's
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way ...
business, which at this time, also incorporated the
Intersil and
RCA semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way ...
businesses. These were combined with Harris' existing semiconductor businesses.
In 1996, Harris Corporation formed a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
with Shenzhen Telecom Company to produce and sell Harris' digital microwave radios and integrate them with other systems.
In November 1998, Harris sold its commercial and standard military logic (semiconductor) product lines to
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...
, which included the HC/HCT, CD4000, AC/ACT and FCT product families. Harris retained production of the Radiation Hardened versions of these products.
In 1999, Harris spun off their remaining
semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way ...
business as an independent company, under the
Intersil name.
In 2005, the corporation spent $870 million on research and development.
Harris Corporation developed a Hand Held Computer for use during the address canvassing portion of the
2010 United States Census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...
. Secured access via a
fingerprint swipe guaranteed that only the verified user had access to the unit. A
GPS capacity was integral to the daily address management and the transfer of information that was gathered. Of major importance was the security and integrity of the personal and private information of the populace.
In January 2011, Harris re-opened its
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
avionics operation, Harris Canada Inc.. The expanded facility's operations include among others the support of the work to be completed under the company's six-year, $273 million (CAD) services contract with the Government of Canada for the
CF-18 Avionics Optimized Weapon System Support (OWSS) program.
In December 2012, Harris Corporation sold its broadcast equipment operations to the
Gores Group which operated as
Harris Broadcast and is now
GatesAir. Harris received $225M for the transaction, exactly half of what it paid seven years earlier for
Leitch Technology
Leitch Technology International Inc. was a corporation with registered address in Toronto, Ontario. On August 31, 2006, Leitch amalgamated into Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and i ...
, its final acquisition for the Broadcast division.
On May 29, 2015, the purchase of competitor
Exelis Inc. was finalized, almost doubling the size of the original company.
In July 2015, Harris Corporation sold its healthcare division, Harris Healthcare Solutions, to
NantHealth
NantHealth is one of the constituent companies of NantWorks, which is controlled by Patrick Soon-Shiong. With headquarters in Morrisville, North Carolina, the firm is focused on developing and marketing a range of healthcare solutions.
In addi ...
.
In January 2017, Harris sold off its government
IT services division to
Veritas Capital for $690 million. After being acquired by Veritas, this business was renamed
Peraton
Peraton Inc. is a privately held American national security and technology company formed in 2017, with corporate headquarters in Reston, VA. Its areas of service include space, intelligence, cyber, defense, homeland security, citizen security, a ...
.
In October 2018 Harris announced an all-stock "merger of equals" with New York-based
L3 Technologies, to be closed (subject to approvals) in mid-2019. The new company, called L3 Harris Technologies, Inc., is based in Melbourne, Florida.
In 2019,
Elbit Systems of America, the American division of the Israeli Elbit Systems, agreed to purchase Harris's night vision product line for $350 million, contingent on the completion of Harris's merger with L3. Federal regulations had required that Harris divest its night vision business as L3 already had its own night vision business and merger between the two companies would effectively eliminate competition in the industry.
That purchase closed in September 2019, and Harris Night Vision was subsequently renamed Elbit Systems of America - Night Vision.
Business segments
Communication Systems
The Harris Communication Systems segment served markets in tactical and airborne radios, night vision technology and defense and public safety networks.
Electronic Systems
The Harris Electronic Systems segment provided products and services in electronic warfare, air traffic management, avionics, wireless technology, C4I, undersea systems and aerostructures.
Electronic Systems (ES) division provided the "ALQ-214" radio frequency jamming equipment for the
U.S. Navy's F/A-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now pa ...
aircraft. The ALQ-214 was originally developed by
Exelis ES, which Harris acquired in 2015. ES is also a provider of components in the
avionics
Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...
package and targeting systems for the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 and
EA-18 Growlers.
Space and Intelligence Systems
The Harris Space and Intelligence Systems segment, formed when Harris purchased Exelis, provides capabilities in Earth observation, weather, geospatial monitoring, space protection and intelligence, including sensors and payloads, ground processing and information analytics.
Cell-site simulators
Harris Corporation produced multiple cell-site simulator products, such as the
StingRay and Hailstorm phone trackers (see table below); These masquerade as legitimate
cellphone towers duping mobile devices to connect to them instead of real
cellular network
A cellular network or mobile network is a communication network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless. The network is distributed over land areas called "cells", each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver (typically th ...
s, so all wireless voice and data traffic originating in a given area are intercepted by the systems, enabling Stingray operators to conduct mass surveillance and triangulate the position of mobile devices.
[
][
]
Originally developed for the
U.S. Navy and later used in the global "
war on terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...
" outside the US, they have increasingly been used by US police agencies.
[
] More than six U.S. federal agencies use these platforms, including the
FBI,
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...
. The
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
(ACLU) says at least 53 law enforcement agencies in 21 states, use this or similar devices.
These platforms are controversial
[
][
] as they surveil communications of all mobile devices in their vicinity, including those of individuals not suspected of any crimes.
[
][
] Harris have been criticized by
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
advocates for requiring local municipalities, police and state governments to enter into
non-disclosure agreements (NDA)
and to conceal usage of these platforms from citizens and the courts.
[
] Such NDA may violate
public record and
open access laws. The ACLU,
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is an independent nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C. EPIC's mission is to focus public attention on emerging privacy and related human rights issues. EPIC works to protect privacy, freed ...
(EPIC),
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ...
(EFF) filed two successful civil
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...
s over denied
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
(FOIA) requests and violations of the
public records laws of Florida.
In September 2014, as a result of successful litigation, ACLU received documents and emails between Harris Corporation and the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
relating to FCC approval of Harris' surveillance systems. ACLU then sent a letter to FCC stating, in their view, Harris misled FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff during the regulatory review process by falsely claiming the systems were only used in emergency situations and not criminal investigations.
In 2006, Harris employees directly conducted wireless surveillance using StingRay units on behalf of the
Palm Bay Police Department—where Harris has a campus—in response to a bomb threat against a middle school. The search was conducted without a
warrant or judicial oversight.
In 2015,
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together ...
withdrew from contract negotiations with Harris for StingRay units, noting the reason was the onerous restrictions imposed by Harris on what could be released under public records requests.
List of Harris acquisitions
* Farinon (1980)
* Datacraft Corporation (1974)
* T.W. & C.B. Sheridan Company (1964)
* PRD Electronics (1959)
*
Gates Radio (1957)
*
Intertype Corporation
The Intertype Corporation produced the Intertype, a typecasting machine closely resembling the Linotype, and using the same matrices as the Linotype. It was founded in New York in 1911 by Hermann Ridder, of Ridder Publications, as the Internat ...
(1957) which led to the change of name from Harris-Seybold to Harris-Intertype Corporation.
* Lanier Business Products, Inc. (1983)
*
Exelis Inc. (2015)
* Carefx (2011)
* Schlumberger Global Communications Services (GCS) Division (2011)
* CapRock Communications (2010)
* SignaCert (2010)*
* SolaCom ATC Solutions (2009)
* Tyco Electronics (MA-COM) Wireless Systems (2009)
* Crucial Security, Inc. (2009)
* Zandar Technologies Ltd. (2007)
*
Multimax (2007)
* Aastra Digital Video (2006)
* Optimal Solutions, Inc. (2006)
*
Leitch Technology
Leitch Technology International Inc. was a corporation with registered address in Toronto, Ontario. On August 31, 2006, Leitch amalgamated into Harris Corporation
Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and i ...
(2005)
* Orkand Corporation (2004 – Now Harris IT Services)
* Encoda Systems (2004)
* ImageLinks, Inc. (2004)
* Hirschmann Multimedia Communications Network (2001)
* Exigent International, Inc. (2001)
* Wavtrace, Inc. (2000)
* Lucent Technologies' Point-to-Point Microwave Business (2000)
* Louth Automation (2000)
* Audio Broadcast Group, Inc. (1999)
* Pacific Research & Engineering Corporation (1999)
* CHOICE Microsystems (1999)
* Intraplex, Inc. (1999)
* Agfa Copying Systems, Inc. (1998)
* Trans-Comp, Inc. (1998 – Spun off with Lanier Worldwide)
* Northeast Broadcast Lab (1997)
* NovAtel Communications (1995)
* Triplett Corporation's Cellular and Telecommunications Business (1995)
Notable people
*
Asher A. Friesem, former engineer
*
Howard Lance, former CEO
*
Edythe Perlick, former player in All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
*
Frank Pritt Frank Wilson Pritt III (1940-2015) was a salesperson and product manager for Harris Corporation in the 1970s, then founder of Attachmate Corporation in 1982. Attachmate went on to become Washington's largest privately held software firm. He was ...
, former salesperson
*
Joan C. Sherman, first woman technical director
See also
*
PositiveID, a US government contracted Florida-based biotech company that specializes in tracking tech for the U.S. military
References
External links
*
U.S. State Department cables on Harris Corp.in the "''
Cablegate''" archive (released by
WikiLeaks)
Florida Stingray FOIA public records pertaining to Harris Corp. and Stingray phone-tracker
Police in these 22 states can trick your cell phone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris Corporation
1895 establishments in Ohio
2019 disestablishments in Florida
2019 mergers and acquisitions
Military equipment of the United States
Companies based in Brevard County, Florida
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Defense companies of the United States
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Florida
Electronics companies disestablished in 2019
Electronics companies established in 1895
Electronics companies of the United States
L3Harris Technologies
Melbourne, Florida
Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
Printing press manufacturers