L3Harris Geospatial

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. is an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produces products for command and control systems, wireless equipment, tactical radios, avionics and electronic systems, night vision equipment, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( C3ISR) systems and products, ocean systems, instrumentation, navigation products, training devices and services, and both terrestrial/spaceborne antennas for use in the government, defense, and commercial sectors.

The company was formed from the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation on June 29, 2019, which made it the sixth-largest defense contractor in the United States.

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 lithographic processes and printing presses before acquiring typesetting company Intertype Corporation. In 1967, they merged with Radiation, Inc. of Melbourne, Florida, a developer of antenna, integrated circuit, and modem technology used in the space race. The company headquarters was moved from Cleveland to Melbourne in 1978. In May 2015, Harris finalized the purchase of competitor Exelis Inc., almost doubling the size of the original company.

L-3 Communications was formed in 1997 to acquire certain business units from Lockheed Martin that had previously been part of Loral Corporation. These units had belonged to Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, which had merged three years before in 1993. The company was founded by, and named for, Frank Lanza and Robert LaPenta in partnership with Lehman Brothers. Lanza and LaPenta had both served as executives at Loral and Lockheed. The company continued to expand through mergers and acquisitions to become one of the top ten U.S. government contractors. At the end of 2016, the company changed its name from L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. to L3 Technologies, Inc. to better reflect the company's wider focus since its founding in 1997.

Between 1999 and August 2021, L3Harris and predecessors spent $131.9 million lobbying for ICE radio procurement ($20,000), the Intelligence Authorization Act ($​1,510,000), DHS fund appropriations for unmanned vehicles ($430,000), and night vision systems research ($20,000).

In 2008, 72 Iraqi civilians sued L3 Services and CACI for human rights violations including "torture; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; war crimes; assault and battery; sexual assault and battery; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligent hiring and supervision; and negligent infliction of emotional distress." A settlement was reached on October 10, 2012, which was the "first positive resolution to a U.S. civil case challenging detainee treatment outside the United States in the larger ' war on terror' context".

In 2012, L3 subsidiary KDI Precision Products participated in the sale of 11,500 JDAM bomb fuzes to Israel, part of a $647 million contract deal. These were among the weapons used by the IDF in the 2014 Gaza War; after the use of weapons in densely populated civilian areas, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the IDF's weapons usages as constituting potential war crimes (along with Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians).

In October 2018, Harris and L3 announced an all-stock "merger of equals". As part of that deal, Harris was required to sell its night vision division. The reasoning was that a merger of Harris and L3's night vision departments would create an effective monopoly on the night vision industry. The merger was completed in June 2019. The new company, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., is based in Melbourne, Florida, where Harris was headquartered. The new company was led by former Harris CEO William M. Brown as the Chairman and CEO, with former L3 CEO as the President and COO. In June 2021, Brown turned over the role of CEO to Chris Kubasik, retaining the title of Executive Chair, and Kubasik adding the title of Vice Chair.

Between 2006 and July 2021, L3Harris was awarded 136 U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts totalling $308.2 million, "as well as six blanket purchase orders potentially worth up to $6 billion".

In 2018, L3Harris acquired two Australian cybertechnology companies, Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs. The two companies are reportedly suppliers of zero-day exploits for the Five Eyes and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In 2019, L3Harris paid $13 million to settle allegations that Harris, before the merger, violated Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations regulations. According to a proposed charging letter Harris Corporation violated AECA (22U.S.C.2751 et seq.) and ITAR (22 CFR parts 120–131) for a total of 131 separate violations.

In January 2022, L3Harris reorganized its business structure, eliminating the Aviation Systems business segment and distributing its divisions between the remaining three Integrated Mission Systems, Space & Airborne Systems, and Communications Systems segments.

In June 2022, Chris Kubasik succeeded as the Chair following Bill Brown's retirement.

In June 2022, it was reported to have held talks to purchase the Israeli company NSO, which builds Pegasus spyware. White House officials heard of the talks and voiced opposition, resulting in L3Harris discontinuing its plans.

In December 2022, L3Harris agreed to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings for $4.7 billion in cash. The acquisition was completed on 28 July 2023.

Business organization

, L3Harris is organized under four business segments: Integrated Mission Systems, Space & Airborne Systems, Communication Systems, and Aerojet Rocketdyne. It is led by a 13-member board of directors, including chair and CEO Chris Kubasik.

Integrated Mission Systems

Headquartered in Palm Bay, Florida, Integrated Missions Systems specializes in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and signals intelligence systems; electrical and electronic systems for maritime use; electro-optical systems including infrared, laser imaging, and targeting systems; defense aviation systems including weapons systems and UAVs; and commercial aviation services including the L3Harris Airline Academy. It comprises divisions, including some of those formerly in the Aviation Systems segment and Wescam, that had a combined revenue of $7.0 billion in 2021.

In November 2023, L3Harris announced that it would sell its Commercial Aviation Solutions business to The Jordan Company for up to $800 million.

Space & Airborne Systems

Headquartered in Palm Bay, Florida, Space & Airborne Systems specializes in space mission, payloads, and sensors for satellite navigation, ISR, weather, and missile defense; ground systems for space command and control and tracking; optical and wireless networking for situational awareness and air traffic management; defense avionics; and electronic warfare countermeasures. It comprises divisions, including some of those formerly in the Aviation Systems segment, that had a combined revenue of $6.0 billion in 2021.

Ocean & Maritime Systems

Manufactured in Panama City, Florida, Ocean & Maritime Systems specializes in maritime mission, Marine engineering, integrated Maritime solutions, and sensors. Services and equipment help support surveillance and reconnaissance with autonomous surface vehicle, monitering, signal & control systems. L3Harris was chosen to develop an autonomous swarm prototype for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in order to create a command-and-control system capable of operating several autonomous assets at the same time. The initiative and prototype combine commercial technology to provide the United States military with collaborative autonomy when operating swarms of unmanned aircraft, ground vehicles, and marine seacraft.

Communications Systems

Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Communications Systems specializes in tactical communications, broadband communications, night vision (inherited from L3 Technologies, unrelated to night vision developed by Harris, ITT, or Exelis), and public safety. It comprises divisions that had a combined revenue of $4.3 billion in 2021.

Aerojet Rocketdyne

Headquartered in Palm Bay, Florida, Aerojet Rocketdyne consists of two sectors: "Missile Solutions" and "Space Propulsion and Power Systems". Aerojet Rocketdyne had $2.2 billion in revenue in 2022, prior to its 2023 purchase by L3Harris.

Products

* AVCATT, a mobile aviation training simulator
* StingRay and Hailstorm phone trackers
* OpenSky wireless communication system
* TCAS, FDR & CVR products of the Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems product line, serviced and managed by OEMServices
* hC2 L3Harris Command and Control Battle Management Suite—former "Harris Command and Control"
* Integrated Core Processor, main computer in F-35 Lightning II and in C-130J Super Hercules
* GPNVG-18, a night vision device that utilises four night vision tubes to give the user a wider field of view
* AN/PVS-31A BNVD and 1531 BNVD. Binocular articulating night vision devices. Standard issue goggle for US SOCOM.
* Azimuth, technology enabling access to data from locked mobile phones. L3Harris acquired Azimuth in 2018 through an acquisition of an Australian company, Azimuth Security.

References

External links

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American companies established in 2019
Electronics companies of the United States
Defense companies of the United States
Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
Companies based in Brevard County, Florida
Manufacturing companies based in Florida
Melbourne, Florida
Electronics companies established in 2019
2019 establishments in Florida
Military equipment of the United States
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Avionics companies
Security equipment manufacturers