The story
L3 was formed as L-3 Communications 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.
1997
Paramax Systems Corporation from Lockheed Martin. Loral had acquired Paramax in 1995
2000
Training & Simulation Division of Raytheon Systems Co., based in Arlington, Texas. This company was formerly known as Hughes Training, Inc., and part of the Hughes Aircraft Defense Group purchased by Raytheon from General Motors two years earlier. The division traced its ancestry to the original company formed by Edwin Link, inventor of the Link Trainer airplane simulator, and was renamed accordingly Link Simulation and Training (later Link Training and Simulation).
2001
KDI Precision Products, Batavia, Ohio. Electronic fuzing, safe and arm devices.
Litton Electron Devices from Northrop Grumman (renamed L3 Electron Devices)
2002
Raytheon Aircraft Integration Systems (renamed L3 Integrated Systems; the Greenville, Texas facility is now known as L3 Mission Integration Division, while the Waco, Texas facility is now known as L3 Platform Integration Division)
SyColeman Corporation, which came about from the joining of Sy Technologies and Coleman Research Corporation
PerkinElmer Detection Systems from PerkinElmer which became L-3 Security & Detection Systems
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Wescam (currently named L3 Harris Wescam), developer of gyro-stabilized, EO-IR imaging systems
2003
Ship Analytics, Inc.
BF Goodrich Avionics
L-3 Communication MAS from Bombardier Aerospace
2004
Cincinnati Electronics, Mason, Ohio. Infrared detectors & systems, space avionics.
Raytheon Commercial Infrared, Richardson Texas. Infrared detectors.
2005
Titan Corp., after a failed buyout attempt by Lockheed Martin
L-3 Communication Combat Propulsion Systems, previously owned by General Dynamics Land Systems
L-3 Communications MAPPS, previously CAE's Marine Controls unit
Electron Dynamic Devices from Boeing Satellite Systems
Applied Signal & Image Technology, Linthicum Heights, MD. Geo-location systems for RF emitters.
Sonoma Design Group, Santa Rosa, CA. Stabilized EO/IR sensors.
2006
Advanced System Architectures, based in Fleet, Hampshire, United Kingdom. L-3 ASA has core capabilities in the development and through-life management of complex information systems, data fusion and tracking solutions, and interoperable secure communications systems.
Crestview Aerospace, based in northwest Florida. Crestview Aerospace provides aircraft structures, major airframe assemblies, and military aircraft modifications for leading prime contractors and OEMs in the aerospace industry. (sold in 2017 along with Vertex Aerospace and TCS)
Nautronix and MariPro, based in Fremantle, Australia and Santa Barbara, California, respectively, from Nautronix plc in Aberdeen, Scotland. Nautronix and MariPro provide acoustic ranges and hydrographics to commercial and defense markets.
TRL Technology, a specialist defense electronics company based in Gloucestershire, England. TRL Technology is internationally known for development and innovation in the fields of interception, surveillance, electronic warfare, and communications.
2010
Insight Technology, based in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Insight develops and builds optics, from night-vision goggles to weapon-mounted sights and lasers.
2012
Thales Training & Simulation (TTSL – partial acquisition), a Thales subsidiary manufacturing civil and military full flight simulators. In August 2012, L-3 acquired TTSL's civil fixed-wing simulation business based in Crawley, UK, integrating it into L-3 Link Simulation & Training. The division was later renamed L3 Commercial Training Solutions, and then L3 Commercial Aviation Solutions. In 2023, the business was sold to private equity firm TJC, becoming part of Acron Aviation.
2015
CTC Aviation Group, a commercial pilot training school based in Southampton, UK. The school was rebranded L-3 CTC.
2016
Aerosim Flight Academy in Sanford, Florida and Aerosim Technologies in Burnsville, Minnesota. Both the Sanford school and L-3 CTC were integrated into L3 Commercial Training Solutions and rebranded L3 Airline Academy.
MacDonald Humfrey (Automation), a Luton, UK–based checkpoint security and automation company
ExMac (Automation), a Droitwich, UK-based automated material handling company.
2017
Open Water Power, a Somerville, Massachusetts–based battery startup spun out of MIT. Its novel aluminum-water battery technology promises a tenfold improvement in the endurance of unmanned underwater vehicles.
Ocean-Server Technology, a Fall River, Massachusetts–based small business specializing in lithium-ion battery, sensor, and robotic mini-sub (UUV) products
ASV Global, a Lafayette, Louisiana–based business with international offices in Portchester specializing in Autonomous Surface Vehicles for commercial and defense markets.
2018
In October 2018, L3 announced an all-stock "merger of equals" with Florida-based Harris Corporation, to be closed (subject to approvals) in mid-2019. The merger was completed on June 29, 2019, and the new company, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., is based in Melbourne, Florida, where Harris was headquartered.
From Wikipedia’s article on L3 Technologies, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6