SIC 3812 Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical Systems and Instruments

Encyclopedia of American Industries | 2005 | Copyright

SIC 3812
SEARCH, DETECTION, NAVIGATION, GUIDANCE, AERONAUTICAL, AND NAUTICAL SYSTEMS AND INSTRUMENTS

This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing search, detection, navigation, guidance, aeronautical, and nautical systems and instruments. Important products of this industry are radar systems and equipment; sonar systems and equipment; navigation systems and equipment; countermeasures equipment; aircraft and missile control systems and equipment; flight and navigation sensors, transmitters, and displays; gyroscopes; airframe equipment instruments; and speed, pitch, and roll navigational instruments and systems. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing aircraft engine instruments or meteorological systems and equipment, including weather tracking equipment, are classified in SIC 3829: Measuring and Controlling Devices, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS Code(s)

334511 (Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing)

Industry Snapshot

In 2001, more than 250 companies in the United States were involved in the manufacture of search and navigation systems and instruments. Together, these companies shipped $31.9 billion worth of goods while employing 153,710 people in the process.

Decreased defense budgets, the end of the cold war, and diminished commercial aircraft industry purchases all contributed to annual declines throughout the 1990s. Sharp reductions in the military-related expenditures that formed the backbone of industry profits led to a flurry of acquisition and merger activity among many of the major companies in the field. The consolidation within the industry led to a reduction of its production workforce at an annual rate of 10 percent throughout much of the decade. The pace of workforce reduction showed signs of slowing during the late 1990s and began to improve in the early 2000s.

The United States was expected to continue leading the world in new technology in this market for years to come. In early 2003, the U.S. Air Force was in the process of spending $1.7 billion to upgrade the Global Positioning System (GPS), along with the Milstar and Defense Satellite Communications Systems as the nation entered war with Iraq. The civilian sector, which remained a lucrative market for new technology, stood to benefit from this upgrade. This circumstance was especially true of instruments relating to GPS and innovative automobile navigation and safety systems. The United States was also expected to continue to be the leading exporter of search and navigation equipment, as other countries sought to upgrade their air safety and NATO allies continued to procure the latest defense technology.

Organization and Structure

With few exceptions, the principle suppliers of search and navigation equipment are the same contractors who comprise the larger U.S. aerospace and defense industry, to which search and navigation equipment contribute significantly. Although not necessarily the most prolific producers of search and navigation instruments, many of the largest and most recognizable corporations in the United States have been involved in the business, including AT&T, Boeing, General Electric, General Motors, and IBM.

Along with such aerospace sectors as the business and commercial jet, helicopter, aircraft maintenance, and spare parts industries, the search and navigation industry comprises a so-called "niche segment" of the larger aerospace manufacturing group. A substantial majority of the industry's product types fall into the avionics (aviation electronics) product classification, which includes aeronautic radar systems, air traffic control systems, weaponry sighting and fire control systems, and autopilots. Product groups traditionally associated with the avionics industry but excluded from the search and navigation industry include flight trainers and simulators, which are included in SIC 3699: Electrical Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies, Not Elsewhere Classified; and radio communications equipment and telemetry systems and equipment, which is classified under SIC 3663: Radio and Television Broadcasting and Communications Equipment. But product groups classified as search and navigation industry products but excluded from the avionics industry's product mix include such nautical instruments as fathometers, hydrophones, sonabuoys, marine sextants, sonar fish finders and other sonar systems, and taffrail logs (torpedo-shaped instruments dragged behind ships to determine distance traveled or speed).

Historically, the primary customer for industry products has been the U.S. government—in particular the Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Industry sales to commercial establishments adhere to the traditional terms and conditions of the business marketplace, and products are evaluated in terms of competitive value for technical superiority, reputation, price, delivery schedule, financing, and reliability. Sales to the federal government, however, tend to follow a highly specialized and structured set of procedures.

Government Procurement. Funds for government search and navigation equipment contracts are authorized by Congress based on budget requests submitted by the executive branch for the agency or department requiring the equipment. Congress appropriates specific funding for programs on an annual basis, which often means that programs originally approved for development over several years are subject to adjustments or outright cancellation on a yearly basis. Contractors submit bids to government officials at bidding conferences attended by "prime" contractors—firms or consortia who submit the final integrated system directly to the end-user agency—and subcontractors who attend the conferences to seek out prime contractors with whom to team.

Contracts may be awarded to a single contractor in a "winner-take-all" competition or divided among several contractors or...

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