BAE Systems has been approved to provide engineering and technical services to the U.S. Army and other federal customers under a $16.4 billion government-wide contract called Rapid Response - 3rd Generation (R2-3G).

The Lockheed Martin team developing GeoEye's next-generation, high-resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite system known as GeoEye-2, has successfully completed on-schedule a System Requirements Review (SRR), an important program milestone that precedes the Preliminary Design Review.

Lockheed Martin achieved a major milestone in the Joint and Allied Threat Awareness System (JATAS) Technology Demonstration program by delivering three prototype systems to the U.S. Navy for testing.

EMRISE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carmine T. Oliva said closing these transactions is the final step in the Company's strategy to divest non-core, non-performing and other businesses, significantly reduce its debt, strengthen its balance sheet and return to focusing on growing the business and enhancing stockholder value.

The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a $123 million contract for continued production of thermal weapon sights that improve situational awareness and survivability for men and women in combat.

CSC announced today that Northrop Grumman Corporation, of Los Angeles, California, awarded the company a subcontract to provide analytics modernization services to the Department of Defense.

"The Raytheon team places a premium on safe operations, working closely with our customer and, ultimately, providing astronauts and their flight support teams with the skills and solutions needed to achieve mission success," said Bill Toti, VP of RTSC's Mission Support Operations.

3M, and Cogent Inc. announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for 3M's acquisition of Cogent Inc. for $10.50 per share.

L-3 Communications announced today that its Nova Engineering subsidiary has been awarded a $52.8 million follow-on contract by the Department of Defense (DoD) to support the United States Marine Corps' Tactical Remote Sensor Systems (TRSS) program.

OSI Optoelectronics has received orders valued at approximately $4 million from a major aerospace company for optical sensors used in inertial guidance systems. These systems are utilized for precision guidance and control for military and commercial aircrafts, helicopters, cruise missiles, satellites, space launch and military ground vehicles.

Is North America falling behind the rest of the world in HDI technology development? Not if Dan Smith can help it. "The New Mr. HDI" is putting together the first IPC HDI certification course and exam. We caught up with him and discussed the HDI course, what it takes to be an instructor and Happy Holden's 400-gig "data dump."

Developers of mil/aero and other high-rel applications depend on solid failure analysis. Paul Reid discusses how thermal cycling will cause a robust plated through-hole to crack slowly over time. Plotting a resistance graph of damage accumulation allows technologists to determine onset, rate of accumulation and whether the damage is accelerating linearly or exponentially.

The sales increase was primarily due to increased sales of flex heater and coil insulation products for the general industrial market as a result of the economic rebound and increased sales of PCB materials related to the telecommunications infrastructure in China.

"Our facilities are busy with solid backlogs and high levels of capacity utilization," said Kent Alder, President and CEO. "The added capacity and diversity of the Asia Pacific operations fits extremely well with our growth strategy as a global company."

"By expanding our presence in Europe, Labtech is a welcome addition to our portfolio of businesses," said Russell Shaller, VP and GM of Teledyne MEC. "Coupled with our Teledyne Cougar microwave component business in the U.S., Labtech's component business augments our already strong position in the field of custom, high-performance microwave components."

According to Mark Thompson, timing can make or break your controlled impedance board. With many jobs going through turnkey environments, late communication about impedance issues takes valuable time out of the fabrication process and can delay delivery of product, leaving the end-user and the turnkey assembler unhappy.

Viasystems Group, Inc, today announced that estimated consolidated sales for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 were $239.4 million, representing approximately $53 million, or 28%, sequential growth over $186.6 million sales reported for the previous quarter. This was also the fourth consecutive quarter of improvement in orders booked.

The companies intend to establish a framework for research activities related to prototypes and products for security applications to be used in ports, airports, subways and rail stations by means of CBRN sensors, facial recognition systems, video enhancement technology, traffic monitoring systems and networking technology.

Stephen Marshall details his experience during this month's IPC Executive Market and Technology Conference and Capitol Hill Day in Washington, D.C. The dual events provided both business and technology perspectives from OEMs in major market segments and ensured that Congress is listening to the needs and concerns of the industry.

While other flex makers have come and gone, Lenthor Engineering has weathered a quarter century manufacturing flexible and rigid-flex circuits. Learn how this Silicon Valley firm expanded from the owner's garage to become a leading supplier of flex for the defense and medical markets.

Is North America falling behind the rest of the world in HDI technology development? Not if Dan Smith can help it. "The New Mr. HDI" is putting together the first IPC HDI certification course and exam. We caught up with him and discussed the HDI course, what it takes to be an instructor and Happy Holden's 400-gig "data dump."

Developers of mil/aero and other high-rel applications depend on solid failure analysis. Paul Reid discusses how thermal cycling will cause a robust plated through-hole to crack slowly over time. Plotting a resistance graph of damage accumulation allows technologists to determine onset, rate of accumulation and whether the damage is accelerating linearly or exponentially.

According to Mark Thompson, timing can make or break your controlled impedance board. With many jobs going through turnkey environments, late communication about impedance issues takes valuable time out of the fabrication process and can delay delivery of product, leaving the end-user and the turnkey assembler unhappy.

At the IPC International Flex Circuit Conference, I spoke about the military and aerospace opportunities for flex circuit manufacturers. During my talk, I explained how the 2-8-9 Quoting System proves that price is not, and should not be, the sole differentiator for your customers.

Stephen Marshall details his experience during this month's IPC Executive Market and Technology Conference and Capitol Hill Day in Washington, D.C. The dual events provided both business and technology perspectives from OEMs in major market segments and ensured that Congress is listening to the needs and concerns of the industry.

You have a great new product--revolutionary even. Do you tell your customer about it or keep the information to yourself and retain exclusivity? Listen to the latest from Dan Beaulieu and answer the all-important question: "What would you do?"

With mission-critical, high-reliability PCBs, the study of barrel cracks is critical. When the failure criteria are set at 10% increase in resistance, a powerful method can be used. Paul Reid explains why stopping at 10% allows us to observe a ripening failure "dripping" with information, rather than a catastrophically failed circuit that is significantly deformed.

IPC's Fern Abrams discusses the importance of efforts in Washington, D.C.: After five long years of lobbying on Capitol Hill, IPC's members finally feel as though Congress understands how vitally important our industry is to national security.

Dan Feinberg interviews his replacement as Chair of IPC's Government Relations Committee, DDi Corporation's Mikel Williams. Williams admits he's got some big shoes to fill, but is excited to support IPC in Washington D.C., especially as the organization works with the DoD and investigates "green" movements.

With the recent acquisition of Circuit Express, an Arizona-based military/aerospace fabricator of PCBs, Advanced Circuits, leaps into the mil/aero business. Listen to CEO John Yacoub as he discusses the motives for the purchase of Circuit Express and their plans for this market going forward.

Is North America falling behind the rest of the world in HDI technology development? Not if Dan Smith can help it. "The New Mr. HDI" is putting together the first IPC HDI certification course and exam. We caught up with him and discussed the HDI course, what it takes to be an instructor and Happy Holden's 400-gig "data dump."

Developers of mil/aero and other high-rel applications depend on solid failure analysis. Paul Reid discusses how thermal cycling will cause a robust plated through-hole to crack slowly over time. Plotting a resistance graph of damage accumulation allows technologists to determine onset, rate of accumulation and whether the damage is accelerating linearly or exponentially.

According to Mark Thompson, timing can make or break your controlled impedance board. With many jobs going through turnkey environments, late communication about impedance issues takes valuable time out of the fabrication process and can delay delivery of product, leaving the end-user and the turnkey assembler unhappy.

At the IPC International Flex Circuit Conference, I spoke about the military and aerospace opportunities for flex circuit manufacturers. During my talk, I explained how the 2-8-9 Quoting System proves that price is not, and should not be, the sole differentiator for your customers.

Stephen Marshall details his experience during this month's IPC Executive Market and Technology Conference and Capitol Hill Day in Washington, D.C. The dual events provided both business and technology perspectives from OEMs in major market segments and ensured that Congress is listening to the needs and concerns of the industry.

You have a great new product--revolutionary even. Do you tell your customer about it or keep the information to yourself and retain exclusivity? Listen to the latest from Dan Beaulieu and answer the all-important question: "What would you do?"

With mission-critical, high-reliability PCBs, the study of barrel cracks is critical. When the failure criteria are set at 10% increase in resistance, a powerful method can be used. Paul Reid explains why stopping at 10% allows us to observe a ripening failure "dripping" with information, rather than a catastrophically failed circuit that is significantly deformed.

As companies look for new ways to make more efficient use of resources, the lowest hanging fruit can be harvested from improvements to the provider/user partnerships throughout the supply-chain. The ability to create, capture and deliver value occurs during the exchanges between these partners.

Are there any designer jobs open right now? What do hiring managers look for when they hire PCB designers? Staffing executive Derek Doucette with American Contract Group knows first-hand. If you're a designer looking for work, or if you're worried that you might be job-hunting soon, this column is for you.

IPC's Technet offers a snapshot of the issues of the day as hundreds of engineers attempt to sort out the industry's latest technological challenges. Harvey Miller, PCB007 columnist and President of Fabfile Online, has agreed to gather a few of the latest Technet exchanges for our Tech Tuesday readers.