John H. Northrop & Associates (JHNA), Coherent Technical Services (CTSi), and EXPANSIA Group (EXPANSIA) have merged to create a new national defense technology company backed by Falfurrias Management Partners, positioning the combined platform to support warfighters, operators, and program offices with digital engineering, full-spectrum modeling and simulation, and advanced fabrication capabilities.
The merged organization said it will provide end-to-end support across the acquisition and mission lifecycle, spanning research and development through sustainment and readiness. By combining capabilities across artificial intelligence and human-machine teaming, modular open systems architecture, integrated digital environments, and additive manufacturing, the company aims to address modernization and readiness challenges across land, sea, air, and space missions. The merger also brings CTSi’s patented Mudbucket™ software and hardware system into the platform, which is designed to enable faster, lower-cost upgrades for aviation, ground, and naval systems.
Ian Northrop was named leader of the new platform company. Falfurrias described the transaction as its fifth platform investment within its federal government services and technology investment campaign. Alongside Northrop, Marybeth Wootton, Joe Price, and Grant Hundley will join the company’s board.
The combined organization employs more than 525 professionals and operates from defense hubs including Newport News, Virginia; Patuxent River, Maryland; Huntsville, Alabama; Nashua, New Hampshire; and San Diego, California. It also operates a 100,000-square-foot advanced prototyping and fabrication facility in Patuxent River, Maryland, supporting rapid prototyping, testing, full-rate manufacturing, and transition to operational use.
JHNA is known for digital engineering, modular open systems architecture, model-based systems engineering, and platform security work intended to reduce integration risk and extend platform life. CTSi is a product-focused defense company with competencies in avionics and electronics integration, unmanned systems, aerial refueling, and positioning, navigation, and timing. EXPANSIA focuses on digital modernization and data strategy for mission-critical defense platforms, including continuous-delivery methods and the development and deployment of integrated digital environments.
Falfurrias Capital Partners is a Charlotte-based private equity firm founded in 2006 that invests in middle-market companies across government and business services, food manufacturing, and industrial technology, and has raised $3.6 billion across seven funds.
Support: Advisors on the transaction included KippsDeSanto and Holland & Knight for EXPANSIA, FOCUS Investment Banking and Crowell & Moring for CTSi, Bradley for JHNA, and McGuireWoods in support of Falfurrias.
KEY QUOTE:
“By uniting deep mission understanding with differentiated and advanced technologies, we are positioned to lead the evolution of critical defense priorities such as autonomy and unmanned systems, next-generation platform development and modernization, and contested logistics. This merger allows us to better support the warfighter with technology that matters, while at the same time signifies a strategic alignment of talent, culture, and mission focus across the consolidated employee base.”
Ian Northrop, Leader of the Platform Company
