The Republic of Korea ship Sejong the Great, supported by the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin, successfully completed a three-week series of trials for the ship's combat system.

Northrop Grumman Corporation reported that second quarter 2010 earnings from continuing operations increased to $711 million, or $2.34 per diluted share, from $368 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2009.

Teledyne Technologies today reported second quarter 2010 sales of $442.5 million, compared with sales of $441.1 million for the same period of 2009. Net income for the second quarter of 2010 was $28.6 million ($0.78 per diluted share), compared with net income of $25.2 million ($0.69 per diluted share) for the second quarter of 2009.

"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."

A product line of automated test stations that Boeing upgraded with the ability to test high-power radar systems was recently declared ready for fleet introduction by the U.S. Navy.

"This is another good set of results demonstrating that BAE Systems continues to perform well. We see good opportunities for sustainable growth within the Group including building on our seven home markets and our substantial presence in customer support and services." Ian King, Chief Executive BAE Systems

The U.S. Navy approved Lockheed Martin's preliminary design for a system to defend surface combatants from anti-ship cruise missile threats.

Following a launch pad failure, PWB Inc.'s Interconnect Stress Test system determined the root cause when no other test could find the problem. "This endorsement by NASA is a major confirmation to PWB of its deployment of its technology throughout the Mil/Aero industry," said Bill Birch, President of PWB Inc.

Karl Gemperli, Elecsys President and CEO, commented, "We are pleased to report improving revenues and bottom line results during the second half of the year and remain optimistic about the future driven by dramatic improvements in our bookings and backlog of customer orders."

TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS), a world leader in highly reliable and secure mobile communication technology, today announced that it has received an additional $1 million in funding from the U.S. Army for support equipment and maintenance of Secret Internet Protocol Router (SIPR) and Non-secure Internet Protocol Router (NIPR) Access Point (SNAP) Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Satellite Systems.

"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.

W. Barry Gilbert, Chairman of the Board and CEO, said, "This was an especially good quarter. Operating profit of over 8.5% of sales is unique in our industry. Sales growth of more than 50% and operating profit growth of more than 70%, as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2009, were especially gratifying.

"The acquisition makes enormous sense both economically and operationally. It is well-suited to our existing medical business and, with a timely integration, we anticipate it will enhance Sparton's overall profitability," said Cary Wood, President and CEO, Sparton Corporation.

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.

The EF Precision Group, a leading contract manufacturer, announced today that it has successfully completed the requirements to be a AS9100 certified supplier in the aerospace industry. The accreditation allows the company to pursue larger and more lucrative contracts in a key growth market.

CTS Corporation has expanded in-house conformal coating capabilities at its Moorpark, California facility. Customers in the medical, defense, aerospace and automotive markets will find that the in-house capability is cost effective and reduces manufacturing cycle time.

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.

A special Executive Market & Technology Conference on high-reliability and American competitiveness will be offered June 9, 2010 in Washington, D.C. The event is co-located with IPC's Capitol Hill Day--a day to help Congress see the importance of enacting a permanent R&D tax credit to aid American manufacturers.

"We're encouraged by the quarterly results and start to the 2010 fiscal year in sales, operating income and profitability," said Mike Degen, Nortech Systems' President and CEO. "The necessary restructuring activities we undertook last year proved effective in better aligning our infrastructure and capacity with customer demand."

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.

There's a chance that International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) and other regulations that dictate how North American companies handle controlled products will undergo dramatic alterations in the next few years.

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.

Mark McCrocklin, Trilogy Circuits' vice president of sales and marketing, recently went to Washington, D.C. as a guest of the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC). The delegation met with congressional representatives and discussed the challenges facing small businesses in the U.S.

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.

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.

It's no secret that about 70% of the global electronics manufacturing world is now in Asia. But North America is holding steady by tapping into the military and medical markets. Hunter Technology President Joe O'Neil explains how his company is focusing on these two important markets. He also counters those naysayers who claim IPC's legislative victories are meaningless.

IPC Apex Keynote speaker Jeff Wilcox, VP Technology with Lockheed Martin, talks about the changing global security landscape and how that is driving the company's business going forward. Wilcox explains how this will have a significant impact on Lockheed's supply base.

Many companies can still use lead solder parts, but they face growing challenges as supplies dwindle. Military, medical, instrumentation and monitoring, and aerospace were never covered by RoHS, but it's nearly impossible to get passives and many other components in lead-based formats.

The rise of counterfeit parts in the supply chain is exacerbated by demonstrated weaknesses in inventory management, procurement procedures, recordkeeping, reporting practices, inspection and testing protocols and communication within and across all industry and government organizations.

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.

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.

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.

Perhaps no other organization in our industry polarizes people like IPC. For some, the association can do no right; others behave more like Obama volunteers walking lock-step with the president no matter what public approval ratings and unemployment statistics say.

It was a star-studded conference with fabricators looking to the government for support to develop the technologies needed along with commitments to strengthen the supply chain, while the government looked to the industry for solutions to its counterfeit components, reliability and supply chain security.

By bipartisan, I'm referring to the military customers and manufacturers of rigid and flex circuits who attended IPC's conference on "The North American PCB Industry: It Can and Will Support the Military Market." Learn why cooperation like this is so vital to the survival of the NA PCB industry.

Blackfox Institute and Export Solutions are helping to educate companies on export compliance laws and regulations. Al Dill of Blackfox and Don Buehler of Export Solutions discuss their partnership, as well as the free ITAR/EAR Webinar scheduled for December 8, 2009.

Does higher technology really beget higher profit margins? HEI is an EMS provider that lives on the bleeding edge of technology. CEO Mark Thomas joins EMS007 Editor Steve Gold for a look at life on the high end of the electronics assembly technology spectrum.

It was surprising for most (for sure, for me) in the audience to hear someone so close to the solar industry express so much cynicism. That's just what Paula Mints, Principal Analyst for market research firm PV Services, which has focused on the solar industry for the past 20 years, delivered to the audience.

Chairman Keith Bryant welcomed over 80 delegates to SMART Group's 25th Anniversary Seminar in Thame, near Oxford, UK, October 22, 2009. The seminar offered up-to-the-minute information on process technology, reliability, environmental and business advances.