AAI completes $10 million purchase

United Industrial Corporation announced yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary AAI Corporation completed the acquisition of ESL Defence Limited (ESL), an electronic warfare (EW) systems company based in the United Kingdom. The purchase price was approximately $10 million in cash.

Headquartered in Hamble, England, ESL designs and produces electro-optic (EO) test and simulation products for use on flight lines and in aircraft maintenance facilities.

The simulators are used to assess the operational readiness of missile warning and countermeasures self-protection systems used on military aircraft. ESL’s EO simulators are also used at military test, evaluation, and training ranges to evaluate the effectiveness of new self-protection systems and to train pilots for combat readiness.

In addition, ESL, which is expected to generate approximately $7 million in sales during the remainder of 2005, specialises in EW related research, study, and in-service support activity for UK government agencies and prime contractors both in the United Kingdom and in the United States.