CAES buys radar expert CEI

US defence electronics company CAES has bolstered its radar expertise by acquiring Colorado Engineering Inc (CEI) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, CAES announced on 1 October.

Founded in 2003, CEI has helped the US Department of Defense develop sense-and-avoid radar for unmanned aircraft to prevent collisions. It has also worked with the US Navy to upgrade the radar on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter to produce wide-area, high-definition imagery.

The acquisition followed an announcement in May that the two companies had formed a strategic alliance to jointly develop technology for communication systems, datalinks, electronic warfare systems, missile seekers, and radar systems.

CAES plans to retain CEI's leadership team, and CEI's nearly 100 employees will boost CAES' headcount to approximately 3,700. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

CAES, formerly Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions, is a business within UK-based Cobham Group, which is owned by US private equity firm Advent International. As previously reported, shareholders of UK-based Ultra Electronics are scheduled to vote on 4 October on a GBP2.6 billion (USD3.5 billion) takeover offer from Cobham.

Whether Cobham's proposed acquisition of Ultra will receive UK government approval is unclear. UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has directed his country's Competition and Markets Authority to review the proposal by 18 January, citing potential “national security concerns”.