CHARLOTTE, N.C., 10 Jan. 2012. Executives of aerospace and defense electronics expert Curtiss-Wright Controls Inc. in Charlotte, N.C., are combining their company's Embedded Computing and Electronic Systems business units to enhance the company's focus on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modules and systems integration for military and aerospace applications, company officials announced Monday. The combined business unit is called Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions (CWCDS), and will make its headquarters in Ashburn, Va.

FOLSOM, Calif., 8 Jan. 2012. Microsemi Corp. (Nasdaq:MSCC) in Aliso Viejo, Calif., has received AS9100:2009 (Rev C) quality system certification for aviation, space and defense applications for the company's RF Integrated Solutions (RFIS) facility in Folsom, Calif. AS9100 Rev C emphasizes program and risk management, intensive supply chain management controls, and facility-wide continuous improvement activities that include on-time delivery and product conformity measurement processes, Microsemi officials say.

ESCONDIDO, Calif., 8 Jan. 2012. High-altitude atmospheric researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., needed data recorders and embedded servers for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) project. They found their solution from One Stop Systems Inc. in Escondido, Calif. One Stop Systems has delivered several of its MDA-T5 data recorders and 3U servers to NASA Dryden for the SOFIA astronomy project.

MILPITAS, Calif., 6 Jan. 2012. Advantech Co. Ltd. in Milpitas, Calif., is introducing the ROM-1210 heat sink-free RISC-based computer-on-module (COM) for low-power applications such as cloud computing, portable applications, and industrial automation. The embedded computing board, based on the RTX COM form factor, offers ARM Cortex-A8 1 GHz Freescale i.MX53 series low-power system on chip (SoC) and I/O chips. The ROM-1210 uses 512 megabytes of DDR3, 2 gigabytes Flash supporting OpenGL ES 2.0, and OpenVG 1.1 hardware 2D/3D accelerators. The board also supports HD 1080-pixel video decoding and an HD 720-pixel video encoding hardware engine.

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., 5 Jan. 2012. Year-over combined orders for rigid printed circuit boards and flexible circuits manufactured in North America dropped for the eleventh consecutive month in November, say analysts at IPC, the Association Connecting Electronics Industries in Bannockburn, Ill. Orders of North American circuit boards and flexible circuits in November declined 5.6 percent from the same month one year ago. Compared to the previous month, however, combined industry orders of North American circuit boards and flexible circuits in November were up by 3.8 percent, IPC analysts say.

TAIPEI, Taiwan, 5 Jan. 2012. ADLINK Technology Inc. in Taipei, Taiwan, is introducing the CompactPCI-6210 6U CompactPCI processor blade based on quad- and dual-core 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i5 processors for military, communications, and industrial control applications that require reliable, scalable CompactPCI computing with quad-core CPU, 2D/3D graphics engine with several displays. The PICMG 2.0-compliant CompactPCI-6210, which optionally operates in temperatures from -40 to 70 degrees Celsius, can operate in a system slot as a master or in a peripheral slot as a stand-alone blade for high-density computing applications.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., 4 Jan. 2012. Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif., is offering a major upgrade to the company's flagship real-time operating system called Integrity 11, which includes performance, security, reliability, and communications improvements for the latest real-time, mission-critical embedded computing systems. Integrity 11 provides an optimized communications mechanism called Green Hills IPC (GIPC), which is five times faster than Linux AF_LOCAL sockets, company officials say. Native Integrity, as well as Linux processes, executing in virtual machines, can take advantage of GIPC.

CHELMSFORD, Mass., 4 Jan. 2012. Executives at Mercury Computer Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:MRCY) in Chelmsford, Mass., are boosting their company's expertise in digital RF and information technology with their acquisition of KOR Electronics in Cypress, Calif., and its wholly owned subsidiary, Paragon Dynamics Inc. in Aurora, Colo. Mercury, which specializes in high-end embedded computing technology with an emphasis on multi-intelligence and sensor-fusion systems, completed its acquisition of KOR Paragon Dynamics on 30 Dec. in an all-cash deal, Mercury officials say. No dollar amount of the acquisition was released.

Jan. 1, 2012. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps manned and unmanned aircraft benefit from increasingly robust, flexible, and advanced electronics. U.S. Navy and Marine Corps officials share a singular goal: to infuse new and existing aircraft with advanced avionics technology. Today’s avionics advancements, being employed in manned and unmanned aircraft, provide a competitive advantage and increased potential for mission success and warfighter safety.

LAGRANGE, Ill. Dec. 29, 2011. Grayhill Inc. announced its certification to SAE AS9100 Revision C Quality Management System (QMS) for aviation, space and defense organizations. Certification to this standard demonstrates Grayhill's commitment to continuous improvement in product quality and delivery performance. With this announcement, Grayhill maintains its position as a leading supplier of human interface solutions to defense industry prime contractors.

AMBLER, Pa., 21 Dec. 2011. MEN Micro Inc. in Ambler, Pa., is introducing the BC1 rugged box computer with AMD processor for railway, mission-critical, mobile, and avionics applications that require low power consumption and high graphics performance. The rugged computer is designed to connect two or more displays, and has modular construction that enables users to configure it to a wide variety of rugged applications, company officials say. Powering the box computer is AMD's integrated T52R Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), which integrates the Radeon HD 6310 graphics processor and a 1.5 GHz single-core x86 CPU. Six other AMD processors are available.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., 20 Dec. 2011. Aeroflex Inc. in Colorado Springs, Colo., is introducing the UT8QNF8M8 64-megabit NOR Flash memory, a radiation-tolerant 3-volt memory organized as 8Mx8 or 4Mx16 for satellites and other space applications. The UT8QNF8M8 NOR Flash is a non-volatile solution that has memory capacity large enough to hold a typical application program or operating system kernel, Aeroflex officials say. Aeroflex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aeroflex Holding Corp. (NYSE:ARX). The UT8QNF8M8 NOR Flash device operates from one power supply voltage of 3.3 volts for read and write functions, and operate in temperatures from -55 to 105 degrees Celsius.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif., 18 Dec. 2011. The American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA) in Reston, Va., has designated as an historic aerospace site the Northrop Grumman Corp. facilities in Redondo Beach, Calif., where more than 100 of the world's most technically challenging satellites, rocket engines, astronomical observatories, rad-hard electronics, and high-power lasers were designed and built, and where employees solved difficult problems and developed breakthrough programs, Northrop Grumman officials say.

NEWBURYPORT, Mass., 18 Dec. 2011. Rochester Electronics LLC in Newburyport, Mass., and the BAE Systems Support Solutions segment in Rockville, Md., are joining hands to make available more than 250,000 mature and end-of-life semiconductors for military and aerospace applications concerned with obsolescence management. Developed from Rochester's wafer and die bank inventory, the re-created semiconductor devices are manufactured with the authorization of the original semiconductor manufacturer, and are form, fit and functional replacements that match the original semiconductor's performance exactly, Rochester officials say.