Plano-based Communications & Power Industries (CPI) has announced that its Antenna Technologies division, CPI Satcom & Antenna Technologies, has been awarded a contract for the Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) program.
The amount of CPI’s new contract was not disclosed. But it’s working with an agency that has deep pockets: SHIELD has a program-wide contract ceiling of $151 billion.
Operating under the U.S. Department of Defense, the Missile Defense Agency works across all U.S. military services to develop a layered defense against ballistic missiles. The agency uses sensors, radars, and interceptors for regional, short-to-intermediate-range defense against ballistic and hypersonic threats.
CPI said the contract encompasses “a broad range of work areas that allows for the rapid delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter with increased speed and agility.”
The North Texas-based company is a global manufacturer of large aperture antennas, components and systems focused primarily on defense and communications markets. CPI’s advanced technologies and systems power critical government and commercial applications worldwide, “ensuring reliable performance in demanding environments,” the company said.
CPI is a global communications and defense technology company that designs and manufactures large aperture antennas and related components and systems, including mission-critical defense systems that protect U.S. and allied forces, the company says on its website. Owned by the New York-based PE firm The Jordan Company, CPI employs around 1,400 people worldwide.
CPI dates back to 1940s
Founded in 1948 by Russell Varian and Sigurd Varian as Varian Associates, CPI has roots in Palo Alto, California, where it was originally headquartered in the 1950s. In 1995, Varian Associates sold its Electron Device Business to the PE firm Leonard Green & Partners and members of management. Together, they formed Communications & Power Industries, according to CPI’s website.
CPI got into the antenna business with its 2007 acquisition of Malibu Research Associates, a leader in the design, manufacture, and integration of advanced antenna systems for radar, radar simulators, and telemetry systems. CPI has made numerous acquisitions since then, including its 2022 acquisition of Centennial, Colorado-based AdamWorks, a design engineering and manufacturing company that specializes in composite structures for business and commercial aviation, manned and unmanned systems, space and defense applications.
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