Va. Tech Innovation Campus opens first academic building
The first academic building of Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria opened to students Tuesday as classes commenced. Virginia Tech started construction on the first academic building of the $1 billion campus in September 2021 and had planned to open the $302 million building in August 2024, but supply chain issues[...]
Amentum lands Air Force contract worth almost $448M
Amentum Services has won a $447.9 million Air Forces Central Command contract, the Chantilly-based federal contractor announced Thursday. Under the Air Forces Central Command Global Prepositioned Materiel Services contract, Amentum will provide and update prepositioned storage and maintenance solutions for the Ninth Air Force. �[...]
Leidos wins TSA contract worth up to $2.6B
Reston-based Fortune 500 federal contractor Leidos has won Transportation Security Administration contract worth up to $2.6 billion, according to a Tuesday notice on SAM.gov. TSA awarded the TSA Checkpoint Integrated Logistics Support Services contract for checkpoint maintenance services on Dec. 31, 2024. According to the reque[...]
BridgeTower Media acquires Furniture Lighting & Décor publication
BridgeTower Media — the parent company of Home Accents Today, a sister publication of Virginia Business — last month acquired industry trade publication Furniture Lighting & Décor from Scranton Gillette Communications, a deal that unites two powerhouse home furnishings brands. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “W[...]
What to expect from the 2025 Va. General Assembly
The General Assembly enters the fourth year in the gubernatorial cycle with even more gridlock than usual. Democrats hold narrow majorities in both the House of Delegates and Senate, but are vulnerable to vetoes by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who begins the final year of his constitutionally mandated single term. Hopes for b[...]
Developer plans $3B data center in Appomattox County
A Connecticut developer plans to build a $3 billion data center on a 452-acre site in Appomattox County. AVAIO Digital Partners announced Tuesday it had signed an agreement with the Appomattox County Economic Development Authority to purchase the industrial site. “This project in Appomattox County exemplifies our strategy of e[...]
George Mason’s Fuse tech hub opens to public
On the third floor of George Mason University’s new state-of-the-art Fuse tech hub, robots jumped, begged, rolled over and offered a mechanical paw to shake Friday while a small drone hovered above. The endearing welcome by George Mason’s RobotiXX Lab robots offered a brief glimpse into the future for the group of academ[...]
Customer bankruptcy, severance charges push Hooker’s loss in Q3
Martinsville-based Hooker Furnishings reported consolidated net sales of $104.4 million in the third quarter ended Oct. 27, a decrease of $12.5 million, or 10.7%, from last year. It also reported an operating loss of $7.3 million, marking its third quarterly loss in a row. The company attributed ongoing low demand as a reason fo[...]
FAA certification clears way for DroneUp to scale up
Virginia Beach-based drone delivery company DroneUp has received a Federal Aviation Administration certificate that will allow it to grow its delivery operations. On Tuesday, the company announcedi t received an FAA Part 119 air carrier certificate under Part 135. The certificate allows DroneUp to carry third-party property as a[...]
BAE Systems wins up to $238M Navy ship repair contract
Falls Church-based federal contractor BAE Systems Inc. has won a Navy contract worth up to $238.8 million to maintain, modernize and repair a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship. The Department of Defense announced the $212 million firm-fixed-price contract award, which has options that would bring its cumulative va[...]
Navy awards RTX subsidiary $590.8M contract for electronic attack system
The Navy has awarded Raytheon, a subsidiary of Arlington County Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor RTX, a $590.8 million contract to produce nine Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) ship sets for the military branch’s EA-18 Growler electronic warfare aircraft and four more sets for the Royal Australian Air Force[...]
Engineering without boundaries
The surging demand for energy. The country’s aging, overwhelmed electrical grid. Threats of cyberattacks. The explosion of interest in — and confusion about — artificial intelligence. These real-life problems don’t know boundaries. Neither should the search for solutions, says Azim Eskandarian, dean of Virginia Commonwea[...]