Fairchild Systems

This article is about the former division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument. For other systems and companies, see Fairchild (disambiguation).

Fairchild Systems was a United States defense contractor which is now part of BAE Systems Electronics, Intelligence & Support. A descendant of Fairchild Camera and Instrument, the San Francisco Chronicle described Fairchild Systems as "one of the legendary names of Silicon Valley" and that in "the late 1960s, [its] Bay Area operations were the training ground for the engineers who went on to found Intel and other top semiconductor companies."[1]

History

Fairchild Weston Systems was acquired by Loral Corporation in mid-1989. The group was renamed as the Loral Fairchild Systems divisions of Loral Corp.[2]

On 22 April 1996, Lockheed Martin completed the acquisition of Loral Corporation's defense electronics and system integration businesses, which included Fairchild, for $9.1 billion.[3] The company became Lockheed Fairchild Systems.

In 2000, Lockheed Martin grouped Fairchild with Sanders Associates and Lockheed Martin Space Electronics & Communications under the Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronic Systems division. BAE Systems agreed to acquire the division in July 2000 and completed its acquisition on 27 November.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ Abate, Tom (1999-09-28). "Lockheed Shakes Up Operations; Key exec promoted, firm may trim units". The San Francisco Chronicle. The Chronicle Publishing.
  2. ^ "Loral picks three to head renamed Fairchild Weston units". Aerospace Daily. McGraw-Hill. 1989-09-01.
  3. ^ Mintz, John (1996-04-23). "Lockheed-Martin Loral Merger May Mean a Loss of Business; McDonnell Douglas Threatens to Cancel Billions in Contracts". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ "Contract for BAE". The Times. Times Newspapers. 2000-11-28.
  5. ^ Parreault, Carl (2004-07-14). "British aerospace firm buys Sanders". The Union Leader.