Rockwell Collins

Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Company, facing financial difficulties, was purchased by Rockwell International in 1973. In 2001, the avionics division of Rockwell International was spun off to form the current Rockwell Collins, Inc., retaining its name. The company was acquired by United Technologies Corporation on November 27, 2018, and now operates as part of Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of the RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies). Arthur A. Collins founded Collins Radio Company in 1933 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It designed and produced both shortwave radio equipment and equipment for the burgeoning AM radio broadcast industry. Collins was solicited by the military, the scientific community, and the larger AM radio stations for special equipment. Collins supplied the equipment to establish a communications link with the South Pole expedition of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd in 1933. In 1936, Collins had begun production of the 12H audio console, 12X portable field announcers box, and the 300E and 300F broadcast transmitters. Throughout World War II, the 212A1 and 212B1 replaced the 12H design. Collins became the principal supplier of radio and navigation equipment used in the military, where uncompromising performance was required. In the postwar years, the Collins Radio Company expanded its work in all phases of the communications field, while broadening its technology. New developments such as flight-control instruments, radio-communication devices, and satellite voice transmissions created great opportunities in the marketplace. Collins Radio Company provided communications for the United States' role in the Space Race, including equipment for astronauts to communicate with earth stations and equipment to track and communicate with spacecraft.