GECO Avionics headquarters, in Mesa, Arizona. Photo: GECO Avionics
Mercury Systems has completed its $36.5 million acquisition of GECO Avionics.
Headquartered at a 50,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona, GECO was first established in 1995. Mercury wants to use the acquisition to expand its ability to provide safety critical avionics design, secure processing and small form factor computing.
GECO is the third company acquired by Mercury since 2016, adding to its purchases of Geneva, Switzerland-based Creative Electronic Systems and Duluth, Georgia-based Richland Technologies.
“Combined, these three acquisitions significantly expand our footprint in mission computing and platform management. The safety-critical capabilities these companies provide, along with our high-performance sensor processing solutions and embedded security features will enable us to deliver a compelling combination of electronics offerings that are in high demand,” Mercury Systems CEO Mark Aslett said during their second quarter FY 2019 earnings call.
Aslett also wants to use the GECO acquisition to capture more opportunities for supplying intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications for U.S. military platforms.
In-service platforms featuring embedded computing and networking from GECO include Boeing’s AH-64E Apache Helicopter. GECO completed the 500th delivery of its ethernet routing device, which provides internet networking on the Apache, to Boeing in March 2018.
Boeing also features GECO as a supplier of embedded computing on its KC-46A program, which recently completed its first delivery to the U.S. Air Force after several years of delays.
The U.S. Army is also using GECO’s handheld ground control station to control its fleet of small tactical unmanned aircraft systems.