Rapid Fire 2010-12-22: Raytheon Buys Applied Signal

* Raytheon pays hefty fee of $490 million to acquire military cybersecurity firm Applied Signal after intense bidding war. * Germany’s Wegmann Group acquires Siemens AG’s 49% stake in land vehicle leader Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG (KMW). They will become the sole shareholder, pending regulatory and anti-trust approvals. * Israel is reportedly deploying Merkava tanks equipped with “Windbreaker”/Trophy active defense systems to the Gaza border, in view of recent ATGM attacks and intelligence reports that Hamas has upgraded its anti-tank capabilities. The lessons from the 2006 war are at work. * On the other hand, the Iron Dome rocket protection system for Israeli towns remains in storage, even though rocket attacks are increasing again. * Australian media say Sikorsky’s MH-60R may have an edge over the NH90-NFH in Australia’s naval helicopter competition. Time will tell. * Colombia sought aerial defense system from US to counter Venezuela, US documents from WikiLeaks show. Given Venezuela’s recent buys, that can’t be surprising. * Patria’s deal with Sweden for at least 113 AMV 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carriers has survived legal challenges, and become a binding contract. * US cautious about North Korean pledge to allow IAEA nuclear inspectors. * BAE Systems […]