Leonardo DRS, formerly DRS Technologies, Inc., is a US-based defense contractor. Previously traded on the NYSE, the company was purchased by the Italian firm Finmeccanica (now Leonardo S.p.A.) in October 2008.
History
Diagnostic/Retrieval Systems, Inc (DRS) was founded in 1968 by Leonard Newman (whose son, Mark Newman, was the CEO until January 2012) and David Gross, two engineers working for Loral Corporation. The two were working on signal processing techniques for anti-submarine warfare. When Loral chose to pursue other technology, Newman and Gross founded DRS to continue their research, which ultimately led to development of the AN/SQR-17 passive submarine detection system, a product still used today.
DRS went public in 1981 and acquired its first company in 1984. By 1994, DRS set a goal to become a mid-tier defense contractor, defined by $500 million in sales – notwithstanding that DRS at the time had only $58M in sales. Six years later, at the turn of the century, DRS reached the $391 million sales level, and in 2004 surpassed the $1 billion sales mark.[1]
In June 2022 the US subsidiary of the Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo, Leonardo DRS, agreed to an all share acquisition of the US subsidiary of RADA Electronic Industries. The new Leonardo subsidiary will be listed on the Nasdaq and Tel Aviv stock exchanges under the name DRS with RADA shareholders keeping 19.5% of the combined business and Leonardo holding the remainder.[3]
