Digital Battlespace
Curtiss-Wright creates new defence division
Curtiss-Wright Controls has merged its electronic systems and embedded computing divisions to form the new Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions (CWCDS).
Announced at a press conference on 9 January, the new organisation is cited as being the defence and aerospace market’s largest supplier dedicated to COTS products and open standards solutions, and will be headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, in the US.
‘In today’s market Curtiss-Wright has seen increased demand for more affordable COTS-based and high technology rating list level hardware driven primarily by military system upgrade programmes,’ Mike Macpherson, VP for strategic planning at the company, told the conference.
‘At the same time to increase efficiencies at a lower cost, lead prime and sub-prime contractors are more frequently turning to established partners like Curtiss-Wright to provide the design and complete integration of electronic systems for the refresh of legacy systems over new designs.’
The transition, which has happened over approximately the last 6-8 months, was considered to be a natural development for the two divisions, and is designed to be a single face for the customer that plays on each of the previous areas’ strengths.
‘The military is demanding much more affordable solutions than has historically been offered, and that requires innovation, and we have, I think, the strongest pool of engineers that create this class of products,’ Lynn Bamford, VP and GM for defence solutions at Curtiss-Wright, explained.
This restructuring aims to target the C4ISR and electronic warfare programmes of the military in particular.
‘As the military continues to address the modernisation of both current and legacy platforms, we’ll have a particular focus with the joining of the two groups; we’ll be better able to go after both upgrade market opportunities, as well as new vehicle starts by taking fuller advantage of the IP [intellectual property] within a group,’ said David Dietz, VP and GM for electronic systems at the company.
‘We have an extensive number of IP coming through from both groups, and with our product strategies now combining and aligning our focus on open standards-based subsystems, we believe will have a particular attraction in these market areas as well as others.’
The company has provided custom electronic solutions for the Global Hawk, F-35 and M1 Abrams programmes to date.
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