GD buys Aussie defense software company

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Nov. 28 (UPI) -- General Dynamics said this month it has bought the Australian defense software company Mediaware.

General Dynamics said in a statement it had "acquired Mediaware International Pty Ltd., a leading developer of real-time full-motion compressed digital video processing software and systems for defense, intelligence and commercial customers. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed."

"Mediaware International, a privately held company, will continue to be based in Sydney, Australia, and will become a part of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics that is based in Fairfax, Virginia. Mediaware has approximately 40 employees," General Dynamics said.

"Mediaware's flagship defense system, the Digital Video Exploitation System -- D-VEX -- provides U.S. and international customers with an end-to-end solution for real-time video processing and exploitation of full-motion video from airborne electro-optical and infrared sensors and sources. D-VEX systems maximize the value of full-motion video with frame-accurate alignment of video and metadata, enabling advanced processing such as georegistration, mensuration, accurate coordinate marking, video-to-still image mosaicing and object tracking of multiple moving targets in a live video stream," General Dynamics said.

"Mediaware's products, services and capabilities are highly complementary to our existing full-motion video and related geospatial intelligence offerings," said Lou Von Thaer, president of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. "This acquisition strengthens the ability of General Dynamics to offer intelligence analysts, war fighters and other customers fully integrated, standards-compliant solutions for real-time digital video processing and exploitation."

General Dynamics said its Advanced Information Systems unit "designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, operates and maintains mission systems for defense, space, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, homeland security and homeland defense customers. The company specializes in ground systems; imagery processing; mission payloads; space vehicles; maritime subsurface, surface and airborne mission systems; and tasking, collection, processing, exploitation and dissemination programs for national intelligence."