Airbus Defence and Space has entered into an agreement to acquire INFODAS, a Cologne-based, German company that provides cybersecurity and IT solutions in the public sector including for defence and critical infrastructures. The transaction is subject to the customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be finalised before the end of 2024.

Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) has acquired a 70 per cent majority stake in VAKE, a Norwegian startup that delivers maritime domain awareness by using satellite data combined with machine learning. KSAT has followed the development of VAKE since the company’s founding and sees great opportunities in joining forces with VAKE to solve the future challenges in maritime domain awareness, offshore asset protection and shipping activity tracking.

Comtech (NASDAQ: CMTL) (“the Company”) today announced its second quarter fiscal 2024 financial results.  Highlights of the results include:

• Consolidated net sales increased slightly year-over-year to US$ 134.2 million, compared to US$ 133.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. This represents a sequential decline from $151.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

• Gross margin was 32.2%, compared to 31.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 and 34.3% in the second quarter of fiscal 2023.

In recent years the satellite industry has undergone a profound change–and one that is still continuing.  High Throughput Satellites (HTS) have been joined by Very- and Ultra-High Throughput Satellites (VHTS and UHTS), and more recently by software defined satellites.  Thousands of Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellites are in operation.  At the same time, new applications are constantly emerging.  In-orbit Servicing (IoS) is a reality and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is becoming a necessity, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) extends its reach on a daily basis.

J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO), a  middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental sectors, is announced that an investment affiliate has acquired Mission Microwave Technologies, LLC.

In 2017, North Korea shocked the world by launching tests of two ballistic missiles able to cross the Pacific and strike the US.  One just missed hitting a commercial passenger flight headed for Tokyo.

The UN Security Council slapped a severe penalty on the rogue nation: a limit on the amount of fuel and crude oil it could import.  The hope was that, with no oil reserves of its own, North Korea would soon feel the pressure to change its ways.   

Except it didn’t.  Two years later, the country conducted no fewer than 20 missile tests.  What went wrong?