Rockwell, Italian Firm Ally to Pursue International Contracts

Rockwell International Corp. has formed a strategic alliance with an Italian aerospace and defense electronics manufacturer to go after business in the international aircraft avionics market.

A spokeswoman for Rockwell’s Defense Electronics division in Anaheim said details of the agreement with the Milan-based company, Fabbrica Italiana Apparecchiature Radio-elettriche S.p.A., will be released at a press conference Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The Italian company has “some expertise that will really be valuable to us,” said Rockwell spokeswoman Christine Rodriguez. She said that Fabbrica is a leading developer of aircraft radar.

Rockwell spokesman Tony Longo said the two firms plan to compete for contracts to upgrade avionics equipment for the roughly 1,800 F-5 fighter planes used by air forces worldwide.

Rodriguez said the agreement is part of a growing trend within the U.S. defense industry for companies to team up with international partners to bid on large contracts.

Fabbrica has about 1,100 employees and had 1989 sales of $128 million. Its major shareholders include Setemer Ericsson, the Italian defense subsidiary of Sweden’s Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson; and Finmeccanica, a financial holding concern of Italy’s IRI Group.