L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announced closing its acquisition of Viasat Inc.’s (NASDAQ: VSAT) Tactical Data Links product line – commonly known as Link 16 – for approximately $1.96 billion, subject to customary adjustments. The company announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Viasat’s Tactical Data Link product line and network on 3 October, 2022 and secured U.S. and allied partner regulatory approvals in December for $1.96 billion.

Viasat Inc. is an American communications company based in Carlsbad, California, with additional operations across the United States and worldwide. Viasat is a provider of high-speed satellite broadband services and secure networking systems covering military and commercial markets. On 24 February, 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, thousands of Viasat modems got bricked by a “deliberate … cyber event”. Thousands of customers in Europe have been without internet for a month since.

L3Harris Technologies (L3Harris) is an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produces C6ISR systems and products, wireless equipment, tactical radios, avionics and electronic systems, night vision equipment, and both terrestrial and spaceborne antennas for use in the government, defense, and commercial sectors. They specialize in surveillance solutions, microwave weaponry and electronic warfare. It was formed from the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation on June 29, 2019, and was expected to be the sixth-largest defense contractor in the United States.