L3Harris has its roots in both the entrepreneurial spirit of the American Industrial Revolution and the earliest days of the space program.
Nearly 125 years ago, Alfred Harris of Niles, OH, created a faster printing press, solving a key industry problem and establishing the Harris Automatic Press Company. In the following decades, Harris built on that early innovation in printing and evolved into an electronic communications provider. As the space race accelerated, Harris, through the acquisition of Radiation Inc., became a leader in miniaturized electronic tracking and pulse code technology. It was in the 1970s that Harris Corporation relocated to Melbourne, FL, and began truly transforming itself into a global communications and information technology company.
L3 Technologies was originally created in 1997 as L3-Communications named for the three initials of founders Frank Lanza and Robert LaPenta in partnership with Lehman Brothers. Lanza and LaPenta previously served in executive roles at Loral Corporation and Lockheed Martin, respectively. L3 was created through the divestiture of business segments following the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta. These business segments had originally been part of Loral Corporation and had been acquired by Lockheed in 1993.Under Lanza’s leadership, L3 experienced massive growth through a series of more than 100 acquisitions during its first 19 years. During some of its early days, the company completed an acquisition a month. The company changed its name to L3 Technologies in 2016 to more accurately describe its wider scope since its founding.
In 2019, Harris and L3 combined in a merger of equals to form L3 Harris Technologies, Inc. L3Harris Technologies is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers’ mission-critical needs. The company provides advanced defense and commercial technologies across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains.
