Defense Business Briefing -- April 23, 2019

Welcome to today's Defense Business Briefing, your weekly roundup of the latest defense industry news.

This week's top story

Jacobs to acquire KeyW for $815 million

Jacobs Engineering said it has agreed to purchase KeyW for $11.25 per share for a deal worth about $815 million, including an estimated $272 million of KeyW debt.

News & notes

UTC chief: Rockwell Collins has given company 'real heft on the military communication side'

United Technologies said today it saw "strong growth" in its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work as well as its space

Moody's: KBR 'clear winner' in LOGCAP V competition

KBR, which won three slots in the Army's LOGCAP V competition, "moved into the program's strongest position, based on recent task orders per region," according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service released today.

Enlightenment Capital acquires Trowbridge & Trowbridge

Enlightenment Capital said it has acquired Trowbridge & Trowbridge, which provides cloud engineering, cybersecurity, IT engineering, application development and network engineering to defense, intelligence and civilian agencies.

Shahahan sees 'opportunity' in developing new defense technologies with Japan

Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said he will be meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya at the Pentagon to discuss ways in which the industrial bases of both nations can work more closely on next-generation technologies in the areas of cyber, space and autonomy.

MD Helicopters takes FARA protest to court

MD Helicopters, denied by the Government Accountability Office, is taking the Army to federal court over the service's rejection of the company's proposal for the Future Attack Reconaissance Aircraft competitive prototype.

Textron Systems, Bell report lower sales

Textron Systems and Bell, both units of Textron, said sales in their most recent quarter dipped from the same three-month period a year earlier.

Defense industry hopes Thornberry can break Pentagon's acquisition reform backlog

Defense industry advocates say they are waiting for the Pentagon to implement more than 150 acquisition reform measures passed into law several years ago, and they hope new legislation being drafted by House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) will do something to break up the bureaucratic logjam.

What's happening

The week ahead

Senior defense officials are scheduled to appear around the Washington area this week, while a host of large defense companies hold quarterly earnings calls. Congress remains out on spring recess.

For Inside Defense subscribers

Air Force 2030 S&T strategy prioritizes rapid development, management reform

The Air Force intends to appoint a chief technology officer, use "vanguard" research programs and expand its workforce as part of a new strategy to revamp the service’s science and technology enterprise by 2030.

Pentagon preparing for alternatives should Turkey be ousted from F-35 program

Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan has directed Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord to begin planning for alternative supply options for Turkish-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter parts in the event Turkey remains suspended from the program or is expelled for its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, according to a defense official.