Thousands of machinists union members go on strike at jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney
About 3,000 labor union members went on strike early Monday at jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut, as negotiations over wages, retirement benefits and job security broke down. The manufacturer is a subsidiary of Arlington County-based RTX.
AeroVironment completes $4.1B acqusition of BlueHalo
Arlington County-based defense contractor AeroVironment on Thursday announced that it had successfully completed its $4.1 billion acquisition of Arlington aerospace and defense tech firm BlueHalo.
HII, General Dynamics win up to $18.4B submarine contract modification
Huntington Ingalls and General Dynamics have been awarded Navy contract modifications worth up to a possible $18.4 billion to build two Virginia-class submarines, the Department of Defense announced.
Intelligent Waves pays $1.95M to settle False Claims Act allegations
Reston-based defense contractor Intelligent Waves agreed to pay $1.95 million to settle False Claims Act allegations involving two U.S. Air Force contracts. And in a separate case, Fairfax-based government contractor General Dynamics Mission Systems agreed to pay $600,000 to settle allegations that a company that it acquired made false statements in federal government contract proposals. […[...]
AeroVironment stockholders approve $4B acquisition of BlueHalo
AeroVironment, an Arlington County-based defense contractor, announced Tuesday that its stockholders have approved the $4.1 billion purchase of Arlington aerospace and defense tech firm BlueHalo. The deal is expected to close in May. In November 2024, the company announced it was purchasing BlueHalo for approximately $4.1 billion in an all-stock transaction. BlueHalo is owned by […]
AeroVironment subsidiary to deliver uncrewed vehicles to German Armed Forces
Arlington County-based defense contractor AeroVironment announced last week that its subsidiary Telerob was awarded “a significant contract” to deliver 41 large-sized advanced uncrewed ground vehicles to the German Federal Armed Forces, with initial deliveries scheduled for this summer and additional orders extending through 2027. AeroVironment declined to reveal the amount of the contract, ci[...]
Peraton taps new chief security officer
Peraton last week announced that it has appointed Christy Wilder as its chief security officer. In the role, Wilder will develop and execute comprehensive strategies, risk management and mitigation initiatives, incident response preparedness and enterprise safety protocols for the Reston-based federal contractor. She succeeds Mike Londregan. “Peraton is emerging as a leading-edge technology comp[...]
Northrop Grumman receives two contracts totaling $1.4B
Northrop Grumman has received two air and missile defense contracts worth a combined $1.4 billion, the Falls Church-based Fortune 500 government contractor announced last week. The contractor received two contracts from the U.S. Army and Poland. Under the $481 million, five-year contract from the Army’s Aviation Missile Technology Consortium, Northrop Grumman will expand software development[...]
HII’s CEO doesn’t expect major defense spending cuts under Trump
President Donald Trump‘s suggestion last week that he could cut U.S. defense spending in half spooked the stock market — but the CEOs of Virginia’s Huntington Ingalls Industries and Science Applications International Corp. are taking Trump‘s statement in stride. Thursday afternoon, Trump said, “One of the first meetings I want to have is with President […]
HII closes on South Carolina plant acquisition
Newport News-based Huntington Ingalls Industries announced Monday it has closed on its purchase of a metal fabrication manufacturing facility in South Carolina, which will now be part of its subsidiary Newport News Shipbuilding. The company did not disclose financial terms. In December 2024, HII said it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all […]
QinetiQ names new president and CEO
Tom Vecchiolla, a longtime defense executive, has succeeded Shawn N. Purvis as president and CEO of McLean security and defense contractor QinetiQ US, the UK-based parent company QinetiQ Group announced Tuesday. Purvis joined QinetiQ in February 2022, having previously worked at Northrop Grumman, Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and Lockheed Martin. In November 2022, QinetiQ US [&h[...]
Former Bush White House staffer named Akima VP
Rachael Duffy, a former assistant press secretary in President George W. Bush’s administration, has joined Herndon-based federal contractor Akima as vice president of marketing, communications and government relations. An Alaska Native corporation that handles federal contracts for the for-profit NANA Regional business owned by Indigenous Iñupiat shareholders, Akima has more than 10,000 emp[...]