France’s Thales yesterday said it has agreed to acquire Florida-based Tampa Microwave, which specializes in tactical satellite communications (SATCOM) terminals and related products, expanding its capabilities in the wideband SATCOM area.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012 pending regulatory approvals, were not disclosed.

Thales said the acquisition, combined with its existing capabilities, will allow it to offer its customers wideband, beyond line-of-sight communications technology where lower size, weight and power are critical for warfighters.

“The acquisition provides Thales with the capability to support DoD initiatives for wideband technology–voice, video and data–at the tactical level,” Michael Sheehan, president and CEO of Thales Communications, said in a statement.

Tampa Microwave designs, develops and manufactures tactical SATCOM terminals and provides custom engineering and support.

Some of Tampa Microwave’s DoD customers include Special Operations Command, European Command, Africa Command, the Joint Communications Support Element and the Army.

Tampa Microwave will operate as a subsidiary of Thales Communications, which is part of Thales USA, the U.S. based division of Thales. Tampa Microwave’s management is staying with the company.

Tampa Microwave did not use a financial adviser on the deal.

The new deal is the second announced by Thales in the United States this year. In January, a joint venture between Thales and DRS Technologies acquired the New York-based sonar systems firm Advanced Acoustic Concepts (Defense Daily, Jan. 11). New Jersey-based DRS is a division of Italy’s Finmeccanica.