Raytheon gets more HARM work

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.29.2009

An $8.2 million contract to do repair and post-production work on HARM missiles will go to Raytheon Missile Systems.

The Department of Defense announced the no-bid contract is to be completed by May 2010.

The HARM, or high-speed anti-radiation missile, is built by Raytheon and has been carried a lot by aircraft in Iraq over the past dozen years to suppress or destroy radar systems on the ground.

Tucson battery company partners with German firm

Inside Tucson Business
Published on Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Tucson battery manufacturer Sion Power is partnering with German firm BASF to develop lithium-sulfur battery technology for applications like electric cars.

The collaboration focuses will target battery materials in order to expand energy life and energy density.

“We are proud to be partnered with BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, as we accelerate the development and introduction of our high energy, light weight, and transformational battery products. BASF’s vast expertise in materials development and manufacturing are important to our success,” said Sion Power CEO Dennis Mangino in a press release.

Sion Power was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Tucson. BASF is a chemical company based in Ludwigshafen, Germany and specializes in materials for ecological and social trends.

Copyright © 2009 Inside Tucson Business

Published: 05.16.2009

Navy awards $260-million work to Raytheon

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The U.S. Navy has awarded $260 million in additional work on a ship weapons system to Raytheon Missile Systems.

Sixteen percent of the work will be performed in Tucson. The rest will be divided between other Raytheon Co. sites in eight states.

Under changes to a previous contract, the company will perform upgrades and other work on the MK15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon System.

The Phalanx CIWS is a multi-barreled machine gun installed on ships. It destroys high-speed missiles after they have penetrated a ship’s other defenses.

The weapon system is used on 187 Navy ships and in 20 foreign navies. The Defense Department said it has also been sent to Iraq when configured on low-boy trailers with self-contained diesel electric power and cooling water.

Published: 05.05.2009

Researcher on cancer, depression gets $3.7M

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

An Arizona Cancer Center physician has been awarded a nearly $4 million grant to conduct a major study into depression and breast cancer.

Dr. Karen Weihs is expected to begin her five-year study into emotion, depression and breast cancer survivorship in 2010.

The National Cancer Institute is funding the project with a $3.7 million grant, the Arizona Cancer Center recently announced. Weihs will work with Annette Stanton, a professor of psychology and psychiatry/biobehavioral sciences with UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The study is expected to enroll 450 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer and monitor them through their treatment, and after treatment, too. Cancer Center officials said enrollment has not yet begun.

Weihs said the goal of the study is to figure out what might protect breast cancer patients and survivors from clinical depression.

Tucson biotech company gets cash infusion

by Ken Alltucker – May. 9, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

A Japanese company tossed a financial lifeline to a Tucson biotech company by agreeing to acquire a majority stake and provide cash for operations over the next three years.

The deal gives Tucson-based BioVigilant the cash it needs to grow sales of its technology to detect contamination in the drug-manufacturing process.

“This is a bright spot in this economic environment,” Deward Manzer, chief executive officer of BioVigilant, said Friday.

BioVigilant did not reveal financial terms of the investment made by Yamatake Corp., which is part of the Azbil Group.

Yamatake purchased a majority stake in the company from venture investors and agreed to provide an undisclosed amount of working capital for three years.

Published: 05.06.2009

Research institute expands in Tucson

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The Georgia Tech Research Institute, which has been in Tucson for 15 years, is expanding and has signed a lease at Airport Business Plaza, 6451 S. Country Club Road.

The institute performs flight test engineering for electronic warfare components at the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center, the company said in a news release.

Robert Davis, senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis’ Tucson office, represented the institute on the lease. Tucson Realty & Trust represented the landlord.

Published: 05.04.2009

UA, venture capital firm to partner

Deal is expected to generate companies from innovations by faculty and students

By Dan Sullivan

The University of Arizona may have more spinoff companies because of a deal with a new venture development firm, a UA official says.

The UA’s Office of Technology Transfer announced last week that it signed a memorandum of understanding with The University Funds, based in Washington state.

The University Funds will license the UA’s intellectual property and build companies around UA innovations, said Pat Murphy, the company’s co-founder and CEO. Companies formed from UA technologies will also be managed by The University Funds.

“It takes entrepreneurial expertise and marketing savvy to get these companies going,” Murphy said. “We are a company that builds companies in a very structured way.”

Published: 05.02.2009

Raytheon buys KillerBee drone technology

By Enric Volante

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Raytheon Co. has bought the technology and name of the KillerBee unmanned aircraft with a goal of producing the drone for the Navy and Marines.

Last year Raytheon was teaming up with the KillerBee’s maker, Swift Engineering Inc. of San Clement, Calif., to compete for the military drone contracts. Northrop Grumman Corp. later acquired the aircraft system from Swift.

Raytheon purchased rights from Northrop Grumman to produce, improve and sell KillerBee IV. Now “our plan is to continuously mature the system and tailor it to meet the needs of allied warfighters around the globe,” said Bob Francois, vice president of advanced programs at Tucson’s Raytheon Missile Systems.

Under the purchase agreement, Raytheon will submit the KillerBee for the Navy and Marine Corps’ Small Tactical UAS and Tier II competition.