Textron Inc. [TXT] on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire Howe & Howe Technologies, a small company that makes robotic land vehicles for military and other customers to help position itself for future military needs in this area.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed and the parties must still sign a definitive merger agreement. Textron said more information will be provided after the acquisition is completed, which is expected in mid-December.
Howe & Howe is based in Maine and does research and development work for the Army and other agencies such as the Joint Improvised Defeat Organization. The company is one of four–General Dynamics [GD], Polaris Industries [PII], and HDT Global–that was selected by the Army last December to participate in trials for the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport, or SMET, an unmanned ground vehicle the service is considering buying to carry up to 1,000 pounds of gear for an infantry squad.
“Howe & Howe are the original disruptors in the advanced robotic vehicle space, bringing customers the capability they need in a small, fast and mobile footprint to support their critical missions,” Lisa Atherton, president and CEO of Textron’s Textron Systems segment, said in a statement. “Textron Systems is now positioned to be a global provider of unmanned capabilities across all three domains. We are clear on the U.S. military’s vision and their future technology needs for autonomy, robotics and unmanned systems.”
Textron Systems’ currently provides the Army with the Shadow unmanned aircraft system and ground control system, and the company has also developed a medium-patrol boat-sized multi-mission Common Unmanned Surface Vehicle. Textron also makes the COMMANDO line of manned combat vehicles that are used by the U.S. and other militaries.
Geoff Howe, who along with his brother Mike founded Howe & Howe, told Defense Daily in a phone interview that they will continue to manage the business once the acquisition is completed. He said their company has received offers from other contractors going back five or six years but that held off until the company could find a buyer that shared the same vision. Howe and Howe’s and Textron’s visions as “mirrored” as to the “future of tracked vehicle technology” and bringing it into the 21st century to meet the Army’s robotic vehicle needs, he said. The two companies have been negotiating a deal for the past three months, he said.
Howe & Howe’s work with the military has been around research and development. The company has developed the manned Ripsaw tracked vehicle as a lightweight, tank platform that it also offers for luxury public and extreme off-road recreation. Other vehicles include manned and unmanned firefighting platforms for use in extreme and off-road conditions, a remotely-operated small tracked vehicle for the military for active shooter neutralization and riot control, and a customized off-road tracked chair that it sells worldwide.
Howe & Howe offers the military lightweight, high-speed, tracked agile attack and reconnaissance vehicles that in the future will also be powered by electric-hybrid drive systems the company is developing and that can be operated remotely or autonomously, Howe said.