La. firm earns $4M Navy contract

Bascom Hunter, an electronics manufacturer based out of Louisiana Technology Park in Baton Rouge, La., was awarded a $4M Defense Department Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program contract with the Navy to reduce disruptions in wireless communications networks. The SBIR program assists small businesses with federal research and development that has the potential for commercialization. Wireless interference is the biggest cause of disruption in communications links and it's becoming a problem as more people use wireless communications and satellites to send more data over wave lengths. Andrew McCandless, who co-founded Bascom Hunter, said the contract was the "top of the mountain" and awarded to larger projects. According to SBIR.gov, Bascom Hunter has been awarded more than $2.4M in similar Navy contracts 2012. The Navy is looking at multiple approaches to solve the problem of wireless interference with Bascom Hunter’s developmental solutions. "If you have disruptions in the link, you can't send information," McCandless told The Advocate. (Source: The Advocate 05/14/19)