Monday, July 7, 2008

DARPA gives $3.2M for Textron laser weapons

By Mass High Tech Staff

Textron Defense Systems has landed a $3.2 million payment from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for work on a laser weapons system, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Wilmington-based Textron Defense Systems — a unit of Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) — will do the work as part of the High Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System, a DARPA project intended to develop a high-energy laser weapon small enough to be used on U.S. military aircraft.

The payment is for Phase 2 of an earlier $21.3 million deal from DARPA. Work on the contract will be performed in Wilmington, Cambridge and Charlestown, as well as Virginia, Missouri and New Mexico.  
 
Last year, Textron acquired United Industrial Corp., a Maryland company that made unmanned aircraft systems, aviation ground support systems and armored vehicles for the defense and aerospace industries, for $1.1 billion.

Providence-based Textron reported a 2007 net income of $917 million on revenue of $13.2 billion.