Tracor Tracor was a major North American defense electronics contractor which was acquired by Marconi Electronic Systems ( MES ) , a subsidiary of General Electric Company plc , in 1998 . Following the purchase of MES by British Aerospace in November 1999 to form BAE Systems , Tracor became BAE Systems Integrated Defense Solutions . Following a 2005 reorganisation , the company became BAE Systems Sensor Integration , part of Electronics and Integrated Solutions . History . Tracor was founded in 1955 as Associated Consultants and Engineers . Tracor was the brainchild of physicist Richard N . Lane , its first president . He recruited Frank W . McBee , Dr . Chester McKinney , and Jess Stanbrough as its founders , and these four added an attorney friend , Harry Pollard . Early contracts included sales to Union Carbide and the United States Navy . The company ' s early focus on research and development soon expanded to the manufacture of instruments and components . In 1960 the company was renamed Texas Research Associates and in 1962 merged with Textran Corporation to become Tracor . Dr . D . Van Holliday was one of Tracor ' s founding employees In 1976 , Tracor became the first Austin , Texas , based company on the New York Stock Exchange . In 1981 , Tracor created Rokar International in Jerusalem , Israel for the development of advanced electronics for military and commercial applications . Tracor was acquired by Westmark Systems in 1986 . Westmark was soon in financial difficulties partly because the $ 866 million deal was highly leveraged but also due to a collapse in oil prices . Westmark filed for bankruptcy protection in 1989 and in 1991 Tracor was split from the company . In 1993 , Tracor increased its size dramatically with the acquisition of Vitro Corporation from Penn Central Transportation Company for $ 94 million . In 1994 , Tracor purchased GDE Systems Inc . from the Carlyle Group ( GDE was formerly General Dynamics Electronics ) . In February 1996 , Tracor acquired AEL Industries , an electronic warfare systems and components manufacturer which became part of the Tracor Aerospace division in March 1997 . Tracor had a 30 year history of support of the Aegis defense system on United States Navy cruisers and destroyers . Tracor had great success in its later years designing and producing flare and chaff cartridges and their dispenser systems for military aircraft in defense against infrared - and radar - targeting missiles . GEC takeover . GEC ' s North American subsidiary announced its intention to acquire Tracor in April 1998 . Following a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ( CFIUS ) ( to ensure there were no national security implications ) GEC completed the transaction in June 1998 . The relatively quick decision , particularly for such an important defense contractor , was due to the relationship which already existed between GEC and the Defense Department . A condition of the purchase was that GEC must appoint a " proxy board " . This is a mechanism where the company is run locally by American managers and was employed in this case due to the many sensitive projects which Tracor was involved in . The acquisition was as a major expansion of GEC ' s defence division , GEC - Marconi ( later Marconi Electronic Systems ) , however seven months later GEC announced the demerger of Marconi Electronic Systems ( including the North American defence businesses ) which would then merge with British Aerospace ( BAe ) to form BAE Systems . This process was completed on November 30 , 1999 . Commentators have described Tracor as the jewel in crown of GEC - Marconi North America . BAE Systems . In the new company GEC ' s North American defense businesses were merged with BAe ' s U . S . interests to form BAE Systems North America . In the years since , BAE Systems has pursued growth in America more aggressively than any other area in order to take advantage of the large U . S . procurement and research budgets . Today BAE Systems Inc . ( of which Tracor is a large part ) is the largest foreign player in the U . S . defense market .