L3Harris Technologies has secured all regulatory approvals for its acquisition of the Tactical Data Link product line, also known as Link 16, from Viasat.
The deal, which was announced in October, is now expected to close by January 3 following the successful garnering of U.S. regulatory and allied partner approval, the Melbourne, Florida-based company disclosed on Tuesday.
“We are in position to close this acquisition much earlier than expected, which means we can welcome our new employees and begin work even earlier on this important modernization effort,” remarked Christopher Kubasik, CEO and chair of L3Harris and three-time Wash100 Award winner.
Viasat’s Link 16 is staffed by almost 450 people and generates approximately $400 million in sales annually. It is installed in over 20,000 U.S. and allied platforms globally, which enables multi-domain sharing of voice and data communications for warfighters. warfighters spanning multiple domains to securely share voice and data communications.
L3Harris aims to modernize the technology by adding advanced tactical data links to the existing Link 16 network to boost its resilience, which is said to be crucial for constantly changing environments and Joint All Domain Command and Control demands.
“The team is excited to deliver advanced tactical data links for this broadly used network, which will give our warfighters distinct advantages in multiple domains,” Kubasik added.
With a value of approximately $1.96 billion, the acquisition positions L3Harris to extend its communication and networking capabilities into a larger user base.
“This acquisition is part of our strategic effort to ensure operators have access to the most advanced, multi-function Joint All-Domain Command and Control solutions available,” Kubasik said in a comment on the signing of the agreement in October.
