| San Diego Business Journal

Kratos Pulls in $2.6M Satellite Communications Deal

Kratos RT Logic received a $2.6 million U.S. government contract for satellite communications work.

Metawave Expects to Find Needed Workforce in SoCal

TECH: Radar Allows for Autonomous Cars to Identify Objects, Beings

A company combining a Silicon Valley pedigree with a Southern California wireless specialty has opened an office in Carlsbad.

CPUC Gives OK for SDG&E’s 5 New Energy Storage Facilities

ENERGY: Utility Enlists Five Businesses to Build Lithium-Ion Battery Sites

San Diego Gas & Electric Co. has enlisted the help of five businesses to develop more energy storage within its service territory.

Activist Investors Seeking Major Changes at Sempra

ENERGY: They See Co. As Unfocused Conglomerate Of Disparate Businesses

Sempra Energy has the potential to grow to at least $139 per share, activist investors said recently as they introduced a proposal to remake the company’s board and streamline its business model by jettisoning certain assets.

Viasat Buys U.K. Firm

Viasat Inc. said June 13 that it acquired Horsebridge Defence and Security of Cheltenham, U.K.

Cubic Rings Closing Bell on Analyst Day

Executives with Cubic Corp. rang the bell and banged the gavel at the close of trading June 13 at the New York Stock Exchange.

Kratos Drone Deal Could Exceed $10M

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. said June 13 that its Unmanned Systems Division received an engineering services contract that could be worth as much as $10.2 million over five years.

Cubic Completes Sale of Global Defense Services

DEFENSE: Pentagon Policies Made Services Sector More Difficult to Operate In

Facing ever-smaller margins in its U.S. military services business, Cubic Corp. has exited the space.

Airline Eyes Fall Start, Pending Environmental Approval

San Diego County officials are now evaluating an application from Carlsbad’s California Pacific Airlines to operate commercial service out of McClellan-Palomar Airport.

Kratos Wraps Up Sale of Security Division

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. said on June 11 that it concluded the sale of its Public Safety & Security Division to Securitas Electronic Security Inc., part of Sweden-based Securitas AB.

Investor Group Says Sempra Must Change

An investor group called on Sempra Energy to seat six of its candidates on its board of directors and conduct a thorough review of the company with an eye toward remaking it.

Fisher Phillips Chooses San Diegan as Chief Diversity Officer

The Fisher Phillips law firm has named Regina A. Petty chief diversity officer. Petty is a partner in the firm’s San Diego office.

Sanford Makes $100M Gift to National University System

GIVING: Record Gift to Support, Expand Innovative Educational Program

Philanthropist, banker and La Jolla resident T. Denny Sanford made a landmark, $100 million gift to the San Diego-based National University System to expand Sanford Harmony, a social emotional learning program.

Soundcast Names Tom Dixon Vice President

Soundcast LLC has named Tom Dixon as vice president of sales and marketing.

Law School Moving to 701 B Street

Thomas Jefferson School of Law announced it is moving from its location on Island Avenue to 701 B Street.

Silicon Valley’s Metawave Opens Engineering Office in Carlsbad

Metawave Corp., a Silicon Valley company with an interest in automotive radar, said on June 6 that it has opened a development center in Carlsbad.

Signal Jamming Contractor Lands Navy Work in San Diego

Phoenix Air Group Inc. will perform several million dollars worth of work in San Diego under a recent U.S. Navy contract modification.

Cubic Hires New Manufacturing and Procurement Executive

Cubic Corp. has named Jeffrey Blakeman as its vice president of manufacturing and procurement.

Cubic Completes Sale of Its Global Defense Services Unit

Cubic Corp. said on May 31 that it closed its sale of its Cubic Global Defense Services unit for approximately $135 million cash.

GA-ASI Kicks Up Desert Dust With First MQ-25 Engine Test

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. said it successfully tested the jet engine that will be at the heart of its carrier-based refueling aircraft design.

At Cubic, CEO Is Making Connections

LEADERSHIP: IT, Acquisitions, And Work Come Out of The Silos

For decades Cubic Corp. has traded on its innovative streak.

Filling the Cybersecurity Ranks

Sector Faces Daunting Task of Finding And Competing for Qualified Employees

Cybersecurity professionals are in short supply. Even in cyber-rich San Diego — where the U.S. Navy has its information technology command — there are challenges to filling jobs, local executives said.

Defense Work Demand Soars For Cobham

DEFENSE: Co. Is Hiring; Local Facilities Expand

At Cobham PLC’s Kearny Mesa factory complex, technicians bend over microscopes, applying deft touches to the defense contractor’s electronic products.

Viasat-2 Puts Home Internet in Fast Lane

Carlsbad-based Viasat Inc. rolled out broadband internet service on its Viasat-2 satellite during the last days of February, billing it as the fastest satellite-based home internet service across the nation.

They Can’t Be Too Thin: Chips

There was other news that took in Qualcomm and Samsung. The South Korean company operates foundries that have produced Qualcomm chips for decades. The two companies said Samsung will produce Qualcomm chips with extra-thin, 7 nanometer wide circuitry, produced using the cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet (or EUV) lithography process.

Some Galaxy S9s Have Trick Up Their Sleeve: Snapdragon 845

Samsung’s newly unveiled smartphone, the Galaxy S9, contains Qualcomm Inc.’s newest premium processor, the Snapdragon 845 mobile platform, in select regions of the world. Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) made the announcement at the Mobile World Congress event on Feb. 25 in Barcelona, Spain.

Local Companies at Heart of VR, Seismic Shifts in Sports Viewing

Seismic shifts in technology and sports are ahead, judging from a daylong conference at UC San Diego.

Qualcomm Seeks Third Meeting as Broadcom Questions Sincerity

Representatives of Qualcomm Inc. and Broadcom Ltd. met for a second time on Feb. 23 to discuss Broadcom's bid for the San Diego company. The landscape has changed now that Qualcomm is offering more to buy NXP Semiconductors.

TransPower Looks to Rev Up Its Commercialization Efforts

ENERGY: Co. Aims to Double Revenue, Inks Big Funding Deal

Escondido-based TransPower, a maker of electric-drive systems for big-rig trucks and industrial-site tractors, is on a growth path.

Tortuga Gets to Scene of Cybercrimes Before Criminals Do

SOFTWARE: Finding Chip Flaws in Development Stages Can Be a Lifesaver for Cos.

A flawed microchip is a hacker’s best friend. Tortuga Logic aims to spot those flaws before they ever make it into a silicon chip.

Qualcomm Poses Objections, Invites Further Broadcom Talks

Two days after a face-to-face meeting with Broadcom Ltd., Qualcomm Inc.’s board laid out several problems with Broadcom’s proposal to buy Qualcomm, but said it was open to more talks.

GA-ASI Taps Boeing in Carrier Aircraft Bid

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. has enlisted a surprising partner in its bid to build an unmanned, carrier-based air refueling aircraft for the U.S. Navy

Qualcomm Rolls Out Cyber Services, Chip With Slim Circuitry

Seeing a clear need for cybersecurity for a widening array of connected industrial equipment and other gadgets, Qualcomm Inc. said it plans to make a business out of cybersecurity for the Internet of Things.

Qualcomm Meets With Broadcom

Qualcomm Inc. said its top board members and executives met with Broadcom Ltd. representatives for two hours on Feb. 14, but said little else about the meeting.

Broadcom to Nominate 6 Directors for Qualcomm Board; Meeting Set

Broadcom Ltd. shifted strategy in its proxy fight for Qualcomm Inc., saying it would ask Qualcomm shareholders to elect six, rather than 11, directors nominated by Broadcom.

San Diego Plays Supporting Role in USS Boxer Repair

Huntington Ingalls Inc., parent to the Continental Maritime shipyard in Barrio Logan, received an $11.6 million order covering work to the USS Boxer, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.

Nonstop Ambition

LEADERSHIP: From Resorts To Airlines, Ted Vallas Always Has a Project on his Radar

Ted Vallas, the 96-year-old driving force behind California Pacific Airlines, stands in the bright February sun in front of the passenger terminal at McClellan-Palomar Airport.

Banks Join Broadcom in Qualcomm Bid: $100B Available

Broadcom Ltd. said Feb. 12 that it has lined up as much as $100 billion in financing for its proposed, $121 billion acquisition of Qualcomm Inc.

Viasat Reports Net Loss and In-flight Wi-Fi Deal

Viasat reported a third-quarter net loss of $24.6 million on revenues of $381.8 million. It also inked a deal with United Airlines.

GA-EMS to Develop Capacitors For Microwave Weapons

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Group said on Jan. 31 that it received a U.S. Navy contract to develop advanced, high-energy-density capacitors for high-power microwave weapon systems. Financial terms of the contract, awarded by the Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium, were not disclosed.

Flight Innovations Mean Modifications for Shipyards

A new model of aircraft coming to U.S. Navy ships means work for San Diego’s shipyards. The new aircraft is the F-35 Lightning II, also called the Joint Strike Fighter. One of its three versions is similar to the Harrier Jump Jet, in that it can land vertically and take off in a very short distance.

Qualcomm’s 5G Modem Chips Attract a Crowd of Companies

Nineteen wireless phone, tablet and module makers are putting Qualcomm Inc.’s extra-speedy fifth-generation wireless modem chips into their products for 2019, Qualcomm announced Feb. 8.

Kratos Pushes Ahead On Air Force Projects

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Inc. recently announced a new contract and passed a milestone on a second project.

Broadcom Pushes for Immediate Meeting; Qualcomm Says Merger Will Harm Business

With Qualcomm Inc. rejecting its latest bid, Broadcom urged Qualcomm late Feb. 8 to come to the negotiating table immediately, suggesting a weekend meeting in New York or a mutually convenient location.