Mercury moves into electronic warfare and signals intelligence business with LNX buy
Jan. 13, 2011
CHELMSFORD, Mass., 13 Jan. 2010.Embedded computing specialist Mercury Computer Systems Inc. is seeking to boost the company's expertise in signals intelligence (SIGINT), communications intelligence, and electronic warfare (EW) with its acquisition of LNX Corp., a specialist in integrating RF and digital signals into high-frequency modules, which is headquartered in Salem, N.H. Mercury bought LNX for $31 million in cash.
LNX's operations will be combined with Mercury's Echotek Product Group (EPG) to form the Microwave and Digital Solutions (MDS) group, which will specialize in developing RF and mixed-signal subsystems and components for EW and SIGINT applications. LNX designs and builds next generation RF receivers for signals intelligence, communications intelligence as well as electronic attack applications.
The combination of LNX with EPG will enable Mercury (NASDAQ: MRCY) to expand its ability to meet the growing need for more complete SIGINT solutions at the tactical edge, from RF through processing and exploitation to the network interface. "LNX is well-aligned with Mercury in terms of capitalizing on our existing program presence while providing capabilities that will become the standard-bearer for the EW [electronic warfare] systems we intend to target in the coming years," says Mark Aslett, president and chief executive officer at Mercury.
"With the acquisition of LNX, Mercury delivers the core radio frequency and signal processing for the JCREW 3.3 next generation counter-IED system. JCREW 3.3 is potentially Mercury's largest single program and this acquisition increases Mercury's content by more than 40 percent," Aslett added.
"In addition, the acquisition of LNX combined with our Echotek Product Group (EPG), which specializes in digital receivers previously acquired by Mercury, paves the way for Mercury to develop a generation of software-defined subsystems designed to detect, intercept and defeat current and next generation signals of interest on land, at sea and in the air," Aslett explains.
For more information contact Mercury online at www.mc.com, or LNX Corp. at www.lnxcorp.com.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
