With the Pentagon's new, heavily hyphenated emphasis on cost-cutting and down-to-earth, boots-on-the-ground spending, one company in particular seems poised to profit: Raytheon
Historically known as a maker of rockets, Raytheon has been spinning out a dizzying array of new ideas of late -- everything from cut-rate eyes in the sky, to new ways of fighting frost in Canada, to helping the National Security Agency read your email (gulp?). It's putting tactical toes into the water, so to speak, and seeking out new revenue streams to wade into -- and call me a crazy optimist, but I think Raytheon's latest idea just might be a gusher. On Wednesday, Raytheon announced an admittedly small-scale contract from DARPA ($6 million and change) that could make a really big difference to the company's bottom line.
It's so crazy, it just might work
Operating under the inspired name Multilingual Automatic Document Classification, Analysis and Translation (the acronym is MADCAT), Raytheon is developing a laptop-based, on-site translation program for soldiers to use in-theater. By enabling anyone on the ground to quickly scan "foreign language text images, such as road signs, flyers, photographs, and handwritten notes, into English transcripts automatically, without the use of linguists and analysts," Raytheon promises MADCAT could save a few lives.
Now, don't go thinking this is an immediate challenge to Rosetta Stone
Foolish takeaway
If MADCAT threatens anyone's revenue streams, I suspect it's rival defense contractors like L-3 Communications
Advantage: Raytheon. This one's winning the innovation war.