L-3 Communications wins Phase II funding for security container

Published 1 September 2006

Company’s Advanced Conatiner Security Device relies on sensors to detect breaches, human cargo; thirty prototypes to be tested

A finger in every pie. It is a fitting motto for L-3 Communications, the New York City-based contractor that has won government contracts in nearly every subfield. The company announced yesterday that its Security and Detection Systems subsidiary was one of two companies selected to receive Phase II HSARPA funding for a prototype cargo security container.

L-3’s innovative Advanced Container Security Device (ACSD) is more than just a pretty box. Fitted with sensor devices, the container not only can be tracked as it travels the seas and highways; ACSD can also detect breaches to the conatiners’ walls, floor, and ceiling, and can even sense human beings who might be travelling inside. L-3 will supply thirty of the boxes for field testing.

This good news comes on the heels of a recent tragedy. CEO Frank Lanza died recently, causing concerns about the company’s strategic direction. As a result, Bank of America Securities recently raised its rating on L-3 Communications Holdings to “buy” from “neutral.”: “Appointing a new CEO, and reducing concerns relating to historic option grants, should help close the current valuation gap versus defense sector peers.”

-read more in this company press release