Dynetics awarded a hypersonics contract

Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, on Thursday announced that it has been awarded a contract to increase the capacity for America’s hypersonic flight testing. The program, known as Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed (MACH-TB), was awarded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane division on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense. MACH-TB supports hypersonic programs by creating opportunities to test technologies with robust, agile, and modular approaches. It will demonstrate ways to affordably prototype a test bed that leverages multiple, commercially-available launch vehicles for hypersonic payloads. The data collected from the test will provide insight to the DoD on technology improvement and capability validation, enabling a more robust and successful development of hypersonic weapon systems. MACH-TB will also provide a modular Experimental Glide Body (EGB) to create opportunities for technologies to be tested in relevant hypersonic environments to inform acquisition decisions for weapon systems. “We’re honored to be a part of this innovative and vital initiative,” said Leidos’ Dynetics Group President, Steve Cook. “Hypersonics are a top priority for our nation, and we’re honored to be a part of this innovative and vital initiative.” Economic developer Dr. Nicole Jones told Alabama Today, “Since 1974, Dynetics has been an integral part of the business climate in north Alabama. Started by two engineers, Hershel Matheny and Dr. Steve Gilbert, the company grew from 25 employees in its early days in Huntsville to thousands of employees today in multiple locations across 11 states.” “In January 2020, Leidos Holdings, Inc., a FORTUNE® 500 science and technology leader, acquired Dynetics, which, according to Dynetics, strengthened the company’s innovation and leadership position in defense, intelligence, and civil markets while extending its portfolio with new offerings and technical capabilities,” Jones explained. “The October 2022 hypersonic flight test research and development contract award is exciting news for Dynetics, our state’s economy, and national security.” This hypersonics flight test bed will bring to fruition a centralized hypersonic testing capability that can be leveraged by Navy Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS), Army Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Air Force hypersonics programs, DoD research programs, small businesses, industry, and academia stakeholders.  This program was initiated by the Navy’s CPS Program and will be managed by OSD’s Test Resources Management Center (TRMC) and executed by NSWC Crane. Dynetics will work with the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) and a team of over 20 partners across industries, small businesses, national laboratories, and academia to develop and execute the program. The planned partners include Peraton, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Stratolaunch, JRC Integrated Systems, NineTwelve Institute, Corvid, SpinLaunch, Varda, Kitty Hawk Technologies, Systima Division of Karman Space and Defense, Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, X-Bow Systems, RLNS and other experts in hypersonics.    “We have always been fortunate to work in an industry where missions align on a single focus: protecting our nation,” Cook said. “Our team is comprised of some of the best in the industry and dedicated to solving tomorrow’s problems today.” The Work will be performed in Crane, Indiana, Huntsville, Alabama, and the National Capital Region. Dynetics provides responsive, cost-effective engineering, scientific, IT solutions to national security, cybersecurity, space, and critical infrastructure sectors. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.

Huntsville-based Dynetics acquired in $1.65 billion deal

Dynetics via BL Harbert

Leidos Holdings, Inc., a FORTUNE® 500 science and technology leader, on Friday completed the acquisition of Huntsville-based Dynetics, Inc., an industry-leading applied research and national security solutions company, for $1.65 billion in cash. Based in Huntsville, Ala., with offices throughout the United States, Dynetics is a leading provider of high-technology, mission-critical services and solutions to the U.S. Government, with a proven history of addressing the nation’s most challenging and technologically advanced missions. This combination of capabilities is intended to enhance Leidos’ competitive position across its Defense, Intelligence, and Civil Groups, and to accelerate opportunities within the Leidos Innovations Center (LInC), for customer focused research, development, and rapid prototyping. Dynetics will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, and Dynetics’ Chief Executive Officer David King will continue to lead the business, reporting directly to Leidos’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roger Krone. “Dynetics and Leidos share a commitment to advancing technology to address the toughest scientific and engineering challenges of our day. This combination adds innovative capabilities in our targeted growth areas, while expanding our secure agile production capabilities, secure agile manufacturing, and increasing our penetration with key customers,” explained Krone. “We are pleased to welcome an outstanding team of 2,300 employees with a shared culture of innovation and technical expertise that will benefit our collective customers and drive our continued success.”   “Today is an exciting day for Dynetics as we embark on our future with Leidos. We know that our highly-skilled team will continue to provide excellent service to our customers and this will enable us to provide even more capabilities to our customers. Our solutions and capacity will continue to grow through this partnership. We are eager to share our culture and join the Leidos family,” added King.