Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc, headquartered in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, is an American technology company with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military electronics. Customers include the U.S. federal government, foreign governments, commercial enterprises and state and local government agencies. The company is divided into 6 divisions. Some of Kratos' most recent products are part of a

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

effort to invest in businesses in Silicon Valley.

History

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions was founded as Wireless Facilities Incorporated (WFI), a company whose primary market was the building and support of the

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

and networks. In 2004, the company primarily sold its services to the US Government, mostly the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

. From 2004 to 2009, the company acquired several companies in the federal services business. Acquisitions included several small public safety firms and mid-sized professional services firms such as: * High Technology Solutions (HTS), communications systems engineering and operational network outsourcing. *Madison Research (MRD): engineering and information technology services. *Haverstick Consulting (Haverstick): engineering and

program management Program management deals with overseeing a group or several projects that align with a company’s organizational strategy, goals, and mission. These Project, projects, are intended to improve an Organizational performance, organization's perfo ...

, and government

outsourcing Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another ...

* SYS Technologies (SYS): information technology products (dopplerVUE and NeuralStar), services and wireless communication systems for the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

and various industrial customers. *Digital Fusion, Inc (DFI) In September 2007, the company's name was changed to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions.

Merger with Integral Systems

On July 27, 2011, Integral Systems merged with Kratos. Integral Systems provided services regarding the handling of data from space and terrestrial-based platforms into networks for military, government, and commercial

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

and

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

customers. Integral Systems employed about 800 people in 14 locations, and had 6 subsidiaries: * Integral Systems, Inc.: central

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

. * Integral Systems Europe: European branch. * Lumistar:

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...

products for

PCI PCI may refer to: Business and economics * Payment card industry, businesses associated with debit, credit, and other payment cards ** Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of security requirements for credit card processors * Prov ...

, VME, cPCI, and ISA computer buses. * Newpoint Technologies: communications infrastructure management. * RT Logic:

signal processing Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as audio signal processing, sound, image processing, images, Scalar potential, potential fields, Seismic tomograph ...

systems for the space and aerospace communications industry. * SAT Corporation: SAT Corporation bought CVG, Inc. and changed its name to SATCOM Solutions. Less than a year later, Kratos bought Integral Systems, and changed SATCOM Solutions back to CVG, Inc. * CVG, Inc.: satellite-based communication services. Its subsidiaries include Avtec Systems, Inc. and Sophia Wireless. In February 2019, Kratos purchased Florida Turbine Technologies.

Technical Directions Inc. (TDI)

On February 24, 2020, Kratos bought small

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

manufacturer, Technical Directions Inc. (TDI), based in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Their smallest TDI-J45 powered the AFRL LOCAAS program of

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

, a late 1990s endeavor to build a cheap

anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a missile guidance, guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy armoured fighting vehicle, heavily armored military v ...

, which was since cancelled. It was selected by starting an engine using a

leaf blower A leaf blower, commonly known as a blower, is a device that propels air out of a nozzle to move debris such as leaves and grass cuttings. Leaf blowers are powered by electric or gasoline motors. Gasoline models have traditionally been two-s ...

: TDI achieved ignition at 5% engine speed. TDI engines typically operate at and at altitudes of 20,000-30,000 ft; they run the fuel through the

mechanical bearing A ball bearing A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion and reduces friction between moving parts. The design of the bearing may, for example, provide for free linear movement of the moving pa ...

s to avoid oil

lubrication Lubrication is the process or technique of using a lubricant to reduce friction and wear and tear in a contact between two surfaces. The study of lubrication is a discipline in the field of tribology. Lubrication mechanisms such as fluid-lubr ...

. The TDI-J85 powers the US

AFRL The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research and development detachment of the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of direct-energy based aerospace warf ...

’s Gray Wolf, a low-cost

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

built by

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and Arms industry, defense company. With 97,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $40 billion, it is one of the world's largest Arms industry ...

with a range of at least 250 nm (463 km). In March 2020, the Gray Wolf was tested with high altitude operation and multiple inflight engine starts. The Gray Wolf may be used in a networked swarm, like the AFRL ''Golden Horde'' initiative to be demonstrated in late 2020 with a modified Small Diameter Bomb I and a modified Miniature Air-Launched Decoy, coordinated against a simulated target in a fall 2021 demonstration.

Products

* AN/SEQ-3 Laser Weapon System * Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie * Composite Engineering BQM-167 Skeeter * "Demogorgon", or "Off-Board Sensing Station" drone (OBSS program)

References

External links