Manufacturer catalog

L-3 Communications

L-3 Communications was a U.S. defense electronics and aerospace company whose catalog footprint centers on ISR aircraft, avionics, mission systems, communications equipment, and legacy sensor businesses now inside L3Harris.

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L-3 Communications was formed in 1997 as a New York-based defense contractor and grew through acquisitions into a major supplier of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, aircraft sustainment and modification, simulation and training, night vision, image intensification, and security and detection systems. SEC filings described the company as serving the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. intelligence agencies, the Department of Homeland Security, foreign governments, and commercial customers.

The company's public identity changed late in its life: L-3 Communications Corporation became L3 Technologies, Inc. after the close of business on December 31, 2016, and L3 Technologies merged with Harris Corporation in 2019 to form L3Harris Technologies. Legacy L-3 sourcing remains important for systems such as RC-135V/W Rivet Joint mission-system work and for acquired businesses such as WESCAM, whose MX-Series EO/IR sensors now appear under the L3Harris WESCAM name.

command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissanceaircraft modernizationavionicssimulation and trainingsecurity and detection systems

Notable Systems

RC-135V/W Rivet Joint, Signals intelligence reconnaissance aircraft, Aircraft & UAVs

RC-135V/W Rivet Joint

Signals intelligence reconnaissance aircraft

The U.S. Air Force identifies L-3 Communications as the RC-135V/W contractor and says L-3 oversaw the aircraft's airframe and mission-system modifications under Air Force Materiel Command.

Sources: RC-135V/W Rivet Joint fact sheet, RC-135 data sheet
EO/IR Pod, Electro-optical/infrared airborne sensor pod, Support Equipment

EO/IR Pod

Electro-optical/infrared airborne sensor pod

The catalog's EO/IR Pod record includes WESCAM MX-15 and MX-15D sensor contexts. L-3 announced its WESCAM acquisition in 2002, and current L3Harris pages describe the MX-15 family as airborne EO/IR systems for surveillance, reconnaissance, search-and-rescue, targeting, and designation missions.

Sources: L-3 WESCAM acquisition, WESCAM MX-15

Manufacturer History

  1. L-3 Communications is formed

    L3Harris's history page says L-3 Communications was formed on April 30, 1997 and named after its founders.

    Sources: L3Harris History

  2. L-3 announces WESCAM deal

    Washington Technology reported that L-3 Communications Holdings agreed to buy Wescam Inc., a Canadian military visual-information systems company, for about $118 million.

    Sources: L-3 WESCAM acquisition

  3. Company renamed L3 Technologies

    An SEC filing states that effective after the close of business on December 31, 2016, L-3 Communications Corporation changed its name to L3 Technologies, Inc.

    Sources: L-3 name change filing

  4. Merger with Harris closes

    L3Harris announced that the all-stock merger between Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies closed on June 29, 2019.

    Sources: L3Harris merger release

Successors
L3Harris Technologies
Subsidiaries
L3 WESCAM
Website links
L3Harris homepageL3Harris historyL3Harris merger completion release

The L-3 Communications name covers the public company before its 2016 L3 Technologies rename and 2019 L3Harris merger; current product pages may use L3Harris or L3Harris WESCAM names for successor businesses.

Manufacturer Sources

  • L3Harris HistoryPublisher: L3Harris | Note: Supports the legacy L-3 Communications founding date of April 30, 1997 and the broader company-history context. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • L-3 Communications 2016 10-KPublisher: SEC | Note: Supports the legacy company's New York principal executive offices and business mix in ISR, aircraft sustainment, simulation and training, night vision, image intensification, and security and detection systems. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • RC-135V/W Rivet Joint fact sheetPublisher: U.S. Air Force | Note: Supports L-3 Communications as the RC-135V/W contractor and L-3 oversight of airframe and mission-system modifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • RC-135 data sheetPublisher: L3Harris | Note: Supports successor-company context for RC-135 Program Depot Maintenance and Mission System upgrades and the fleet's ISR mission. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • L-3 WESCAM acquisitionPublisher: Washington Technology | Note: Supports L-3 Communications' announced 2002 WESCAM acquisition and WESCAM's identity as a Canadian military visual-information systems company. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • WESCAM MX-15Publisher: L3Harris | Note: Supports WESCAM MX-15 context as an airborne EO/IR imaging system for medium-altitude surveillance, reconnaissance, and search-and-rescue missions from manned and unmanned platforms. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • RC-135 Rivet Joint photoPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports public-domain image provenance for the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint image. | Accessed: 2026-07-11
  • L-3 name change filingPublisher: SEC | Note: Supports the company name change from L-3 Communications Corporation to L3 Technologies, Inc. effective after the close of business on December 31, 2016. | Accessed: 2026-06-21
  • L3Harris merger releasePublisher: L3Harris Investor Relations | Note: Supports the June 29, 2019 merger of Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies into L3Harris Technologies. | Accessed: 2026-06-21

Produced weapons

Category

Aircraft & UAVs

Crewed aircraft, drones, and loitering munitions.

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