L-3 buys Applied Signal and Image Technology

L-3 Communications Inc. acquired Applied Signal and Image Technology Inc., a provider of research, engineering and production of signal processing systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Linthicum, Md., company has been renamed L-3 ASIT and will report to L-3's Integrated Systems Group. The acquisition is expected to add about $20 million to L-3's sales in 2006, L-3 said.

ASIT designs, develops and integrates tactical communications intelligence, measurement and signature, and electronic attack systems for both ground and airborne installations, including fixed-wing aircraft, rotary aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. The company has specific expertise in radio-signal direction finding and geo-location.

Founded in 1992, ASIT has sold more than 600 geo-location systems, including payloads for the Predator UAV and the UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter. Many of these are deployed in support of U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The acquisition will augment L-3's Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C3ISR) capabilities.

It will do this by providing L-3 with sensor systems and technology that will integrate well with its UAV initiatives and larger C3ISR programs, said Robert Drewes, president and chief operating officer of L-3 Integrated System Group.

ASIT has developed a family of small, low-power geo-location systems for both ground and airborne applications and has built strong relationships with the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, he said. "With this acquisition, L-3 has positioned itself to compete well in the networked tactical geo-location market," he said.

L-3 has more than 44,000 employees and annual sales of $6.9 billion. The company ranks No. 15 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.