Daily Business Report-Dec. 31, 2020
Northrop Grumman has been awarded a production contract for 19 ‘Coyote’ supersonic sea-skimming target vehicles.
Northrop Grumman to produce
additional target vehicles for U.S. Navy
Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a production contract for 19 GQM-163A “Coyote” supersonic sea-skimming target (SSST) vehicles. The $57 million award could be worth up to $250 million with options for an additional 84 target vehicles. This brings the GQM-163A targets ordered to date to 200.
“The Coyote is the only supersonic sea skimming target in production in the U.S.,” said Rich Straka, vice president, launch vehicles, Northrop Grumman. “This is our fourteenth full-rate production contract of reliable and proven threat representative targets.”
The Coyote is a high performance, supersonic target missile used to test naval ship defenses. The company uses 3D printing extensively to build mockups, tooling, and preliminary design modifications. The design integrates a solid-fuel, air-breathing ducted rocket propulsion system with high performance avionics capable of providing multiple threat scenarios.
Northrop Grumman designed, developed and first flew the Coyote in 2003. The company has since delivered 124 targets to the U.S. Navy and successfully launched them 79 times.
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County Fire starts the new year with a new name
The San Diego County Fire Authority has been renamed the San Diego County Fire Protection District.
The name change became official Dec. 7 when the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) voted 8-0 in favor of becoming a dependent special district under the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. LAFCO oversees the establishment and organization of special districts.
“The San Diego County Fire Protection District has been a long time coming,” said Herman Reddick, the district’s director. “It is the natural progression of growth and provides the long-term stability of the organization.”
According to Reddick, in the last five years San Diego County Fire has been able to make significant improvements by increasing permanent career staffing and the assignment of paramedics at all San Diego County Fire Protection District stations and increasing the level of services provided to county residents.
The San Diego County Fire Protection District is comprised of elements from both the State of California and the County of San Diego working in unison as a single organization. More than 500 sworn personnel operate 35 fire stations to ensure San Diego County residents are living safely. The designation as a fire protection district is just one step in County Fire’s continuous efforts to achieve operational excellence in all programs and areas of responsibility.
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Port of San Diego selects Joe Stuyvesant
as next president and chief executive officer
The Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has selected Joe Stuyvesant to serve as its next president and chief executive officer (CEO). Stuyvesant, who currently serves as executive director at Navy Region Southwest, is considered the top candidate among hundreds of applicants after a vigorous nationwide search that began in September. His contract is anticipated to be ratified at the January 19, 2021 Board meeting and it’s expected that Stuyvesant will assume his duties February 1.
Stuyvesant served in the United States Navy for 30 years, after graduating with a BBA from the University of New Mexico. He earned an MBA in finance from the University of San Diego. His primary assignment in the Navy was as a naval aviator. He was deployed numerous times to the Western Pacific and the Arabian Gulf flying off cruisers, destroyers, and frigates as well as serving on three different aircraft carriers, including operations in support of Operation Desert Storm.
Stuyvesant will lead more than 500 employees managing the Port, a specially created state district responsible for more than 14,000 acres of tideland, bay, and beaches along 34 miles of waterfront in five cities.
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Financing arranged for Brixton Capital
acquisition of 2 Kearny Mesa office properties
CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance has secured financing for two office properties in Kearny Mesa for borrower Brixton Capital. The financing provides for future funding to build out tenant improvements, leasing commissions and capital expenditures. The buildings’ total 87,775 square feet.
Lomas Pacific I is located at 9619 Chesapeake Drive, and Lomas Pacific II is located at 9444 Farnham St. The properties were originally built in 1983 and 1985, respectively, and renovated in 2017. Improvements include an interior and exterior refresh, new signage, elevator modernization, new lobbies and hallways, remodeled restrooms and landscaping. The buildings offer parking, outdoor seating and meeting areas and are within walking distance to retail amenities.
CBRE’s Shaun Moothart, Bruce Francis, Bob Ybarra, Jennifer Ansari, Dana Summers, and Doug Birrell arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower.
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InfraServ expands to West Coast with acquisition
of San Diego-based Bobcat Southwest dealership
InfraServ US, LLC, an industrial equipment dealership and services platform, has acquired the Bobcat Southwest dealership group based in San Diego. The acquisition will be completed through InfraServ’s subsidiary, Gateway Dealer Network, a provider of Bobcat and Doosan-branded industrial equipment sales, parts and service, and rental services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Bobcat Southwest is a full-service Bobcat dealership group offering new and used sales, parts and service, and rentals across six locations in Southern California and Nevada. With the closing of the transaction, the combined company will operate 25 locations spanning 10 states across the Midwest, Southeastern and Western United States.
“We look forward to a bright future with the Gateway Dealer Network team. They share our consistent commitment to customers, culture and valued employees, and we know that we will reach great heights by leveraging our combined services, knowledgeable salespeople and dedicated factory trained professional technicians,” said Rich Fuller, founder of Bobcat Southwest.
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U.S. Department of Energy honors former
National Fusion Center division director
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has recognized Dr. Arnie Kellman, the retiring division director of operations at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, for his significant contributions to fusion energy research.
Over his 37-year career in fusion at General Atomics (GA), which operates DIII-D as a national user facility for DOE’s Office of Science, Kellman was instrumental in keeping the facility on the cutting edge of scientific research through keen oversight of operations and a series of important upgrades to the DIII-D tokamak and its supporting systems.
DIII-D is the largest magnetic fusion research facility in the country.
It hosts researchers from more than 100 institutions across the globe, including 40 universities.
The heart of the facility is a tokamak that uses powerful electromagnets to produce a doughnut-shaped, or toroidal, magnetic containment for confining a fusion plasma.
In DIII-D, plasma temperatures that are 10 times hotter than the Sun are routinely achieved. At such extremely high temperatures, hydrogen isotopes can fuse together and release energy.
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Viasat announces agreement to acquire RigNet
Viasat Inc.announced it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire RigNet, Inc., a leading provider of ultra-secure, intelligent networking solutions and specialized applications, in an all-stock transaction that values RigNet at an enterprise value of approximately $222 million based on Viasat’s share price as of the date of the agreement and RigNet’s net debt at Sept. 30, 2020.
The acquisition will help to further accelerate Viasat’s strategy to provide high-quality, ubiquitous, affordable broadband connectivity and communications to the hardest-to-reach locations around the globe. RigNet provides premier, global end-to-end, secure managed communications service and installation capabilities, along with digital transformation solutions, which will enable Viasat to quickly expand into new adjacent industries, including: energy, shipping, maritime, mining and additional enterprises.
