Daily Business Report-Dec. 2, 2020
General Atomics’ SkyGuardian drone. (General Atomics photo)
San Diego kept quiet on plans for military-grade
drone to catch speeding drivers
By Jesse Marx | Voice of San Diego
San Diego was supposed to be the site this year of a major drone project intended to show off the civilian capabilities of military-grade technology for monitoring things like wildfires and infrastructure. The players involved in the test flight obscured its other purpose: catching drivers who speed.
Records obtained by Voice of San Diego show that the city’s Office of Homeland Security had been supportive of General Atomics, a local defense contractor, in its attempt to open the skies above San Diego to new forms of surveillance. They wound up talking last year about how police might benefit from putting a massive vehicle with a camera above the metro.
The SkyGuardian is not an ordinary drone. It weighs upwards of 12,500 pounds, with a wingspan of 79 feet. Its predecessors were developed to help the war on terror, and the company has marketed it as a “persistent eye in the sky” that governments can incorporate into their public planning and emergency response efforts.
In San Diego, officials kicked around the possibility of using the drone for vehicle enforcement on the freeway — but asked General Atomics to withhold that information publicly, omitting one of the reasons they were interested in the test flight.
The company passed along a draft press release to the city in July 2019 looking for feedback. Harrison Andrew Pierce, who worked on aerial systems compliance in the Office of Homeland Security, replied with edits and a few thoughts.
“Since SDPD is not involved in the public safety aspect of this project and IPP, they and the mayor’s office requested no inclusion/indication of public safety-specific use,” he wrote.
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Harbor Associates completes $4 million
renovations on Bungalows Del Mar offices
Harbor Associates has reintroduced a 39,537-square-foot, garden-style office building to Del Mar afer finishing a $4 million renovation. It’s called the Bungalows Del Mar.
Harbor Associates, in joint venture with The Bascom Group, acquired the property at 2010 Jimmy Durante Blvd. in 2018 with the plan of repositioning the asset to appeal to a broader tenant base.
Improvements included a complete exterior redesign and new creative office suites with exposed vaulted ceilings, polished aluminum ducting, skylights and operable windows. Harbor upgraded the expansive outdoor space and patio areas to create “outdoor meeting rooms” and installed a locker room with showers, bicycle and surfboard storage and electric car chargers.
“While most office leasing has ground to a standstill this year due to the pandemic and work from home orders, the leasing interest and activity at the Bungalows Del Mar has been incredible,” said Harbor Principal Justin Loiacono. “Even before renovations were complete, we leased 25 percent of the rentable space to tenants in the health care, medical, financial services and technology sectors with leases out to similar tenants for another 10,000 square feet. We are confident in our ability to stabilize the building by the first quarter of 2021.”
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Navy decides fire-ravaged amphibious
assault ship too expensive to repair
The Navy announced Monday that the fire-ravaged USS Bonhomme Richard will be decommissioned because repairs would cost more than building a new ship.
The 41,000-ton amphibious assault ship, which is a small aircraft carrier capable of carrying helicopters and vertical-takeoff jets, sustained severe damage from a fire that burned for four days in July, leaving the vessel listing to the starboard side, its aluminum superstructure collapsed and melted.
The Navy said a comprehensive assessment following the fire concluded that restoring the Bonhomme Richard would cost over $3 billion and require between five and seven years to complete.
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” said Navy Secretary Braithwaite. “Following an extensive material assessment in which various courses of action were considered and evaluated, we came to the conclusion that it is not fiscally responsible to restore her.”
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San Diego-based Ambrx raises
$200 million to advance clinical programs
from MedCity News
A San Diego-based biopharma company has raised $200 million to advance work on its genetics-based therapies, which target cancer, cardiovascular disease and other conditions.
The investment represents the biggest yet for Ambrx Inc., which has several cancer therapies in its clinical pipeline.,
“The conclusion of this financing and the strong data emerging from our ongoing clinical programs, as well as our deep preclinical pipeline of proprietary drug candidates, positions the company for rapid growth,” said Dr. Fang Tien, the company’s CEO and chairman, in a statement.
Ambrx relies on proprietary technology using what it describes as an expanded genetic code to develop precision biologics, which can include antibody drug conjugates, bispecifics and targeted immuno-oncology therapies.
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UC San Diego selected to lead international
HIV/AIDS clinical trials unit
University of California San Diego Collaborative Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) has been selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to lead and administer an international seven-year, $28-million grant for science-driven clinical trials that deliver innovative, efficient results needed to turn the corner on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Every seven years, NIH competitively renews its funding of the HIV clinical trials networks operating in the United States and internationally. During the current application process, UC San Diego AntiViral Research Center, University of Colorado Hospital, Houston AIDS Research Team and Durban International clinical research sites were chosen to work collaboratively on research priorities for the NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases HIV/AIDS Adult Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network. Chennai Antiviral Research and Treatment center, University of Southern California and University of Miami clinical research sites were also chosen to join the CTU to serve as qualified reserve or protocol-specific sites as needed for future clinical trials.
Approximately 38 million people are living with HIV/AIDS globally with 1.7 million acquiring HIV in 2019 alone. In the United States, 1.2 million are living with this virus.
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Angela Grant appointed chief legal
office for Palomar Holdings Inc.
Angela Grant has been appointed chief legal officer for Palomar Holdings Inc., effective immediately. Grant has over 30 years of operational and legal experience in the insurance industry and will oversee all in-house and corporate counsel duties. Grant will also play a prominent role in regulatory, compliance and strategic matters.
Grant most recently served as chief legal and innovation officer at CSE Insurance Group. Previously, she served as the head of compliance and legal at Hippo Insurance. In addition to her legal and compliance background, past leadership roles at Esurance, Kemper and GEICO burnished her credentials in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and strategy.
Grant received her juris doctor from the Texas A&M University School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Texas. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, State Bar of California (Registered In-House Counsel), American Bar Association, Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics, Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals (AICP), and the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL).
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Viasat to acquire remaining stake in
European broadband joint venture
Viasat Inc. announced it will strengthen its European presence by purchasing the remaining 51 percent share of Euro Broadband Infrastructure (EBI), the wholesale broadband services business created as part of Viasat’s former partnering arrangement with Eutelsat Communications.
EBI provides fixed and mobile broadband services on a wholesale basis in the European and Mediterranean markets. In the initial partnering arrangement, Eutelsat contributed its existing European broadband operations to the wholesale business, including ownership of the KA-SAT satellite and related ground infrastructure. Eutelsat initially owned 51percent of EBI, and Viasat the remaining 49 percent interest. The 51 percent controlling interest in EBI was acquired for $166.9 million subject to customary net working capital and net debt adjustments. The purchase price will be funded with available cash, resulting in a cash outlay of $59.6 million, net of approximately $107.3 million of EBI’s cash on hand.
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Kratos acquires software
engineering company 5-D Systems
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. a provider of high-performance, jet-powered unmanned aerial systems, has acquired 5-D Systems Inc., a software engineering company with facilities in the Austin, Texas area and in Huntsville, Ala. 5-D is well-known in the defense/aerospace industry for its more than 20 years of experience as a small business designing, developing, integrating, testing, modifying and supporting unmanned, manned, and optionally-piloted vehicles (OPV) / aviation systems.
and also providing technical/logistics/program SETA / A&AS support on government sites.
5-D will be a company within the Kratos Unmanned Systems Division and will function as the systems engineering hub for the division.
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General Atomics delivers final
MQ-9A Block 5 RPA to Spain
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) delivered the final two MQ-9A Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and a ground control station to the Spanish Air Force on Nov. 23, completing a Foreign Military Sales acquisition of four aircraft and three ground control stations. The new MQ-9s will be operated by the 233rd Squadron at Talavera la Real Air Base near Badajoz, Spain.
The final delivery was preceded by acceptance test procedures (ATP) completed at General Atomics’ Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, Calif. The ATPs were witnessed by the U.S. Air Force MQ-9 System Program Office acting on behalf of Spain’s Directorate General for Armament and Materiel procurement team due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The successful ATPs resulted in Spain’s issuance of an Airworthiness Military Type Certificate for the aircraft, which is first time this has been done for the MQ-9A Block 5. This measure certifies that the entire system, including the maintenance, is safe for personnel in the air and on the ground. It is also a key hurdle to clear to operate in national airspace.
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2021 Farmers Insurance Open set for Jan. 25-31
The Century Club of San Diego, the nonprofit organization that operates San Diego’s PGA TOUR event, the Farmers Insurance Open, announced that the tournament will be held at Torrey Pines Golf Course Jan. 25-31. Due to the ongoing pandemic, spectators will not be permitted on site for the 2021 competition.
“We recognize that COVID-19 requires dramatic modifications to the operations of our annual event,” said Century Club CEO Marty Gorsich. “We have been working closely with the PGA TOUR as well as the County and City of San Diego in our planning. The safety and well-being of everyone affiliated with the Farmers Insurance Open and our community remains our top priority.
The tournament, which is a part of the PGA TOUR’s West Coast Swing, is televised annually on the Golf Channel and CBS. Additionally, fans are encouraged to follow the tournament’s social media accounts throughout the tournament for up-to-date information and behind-the-scenes content.
