World's most profitable Android company? Microsoft!?

Summary: Who makes the most money from Android is an open question, but according to Goldman Sachs, with an estimated $444-million Microsoft is probably in the running.

Measuring a profit can be a complicated thing my accounting friends tell me. For example, Google, which controls Android, is certainly making money from it, but how much? But, what if you’re making $444 million from Android and you actually didn’t have to spend any money on research and development or programming? You’d be doing great wouldn’t you? Well, welcome to Microsoft’s business plan for Android.
According to a Goldman Sachs‘ tech analyst note, as reported by Business Insider, that’s exactly how Microsoft is cashing in on Android. Goldman Sachs estimates that Microsoft will pick up $444-million in revenue from its Android patent deals for fiscal year 2012. For those of you playing at home, that’s $3-$6 per Android device. Yes, that may well be more than Microsoft makes from its own troubled mobile operating systems.
That’s nice work if you can get it. We still don’t know exactly how much Microsoft is getting from its cross-licensing patent deals with Samsung and other Android manufacturers. We don’t even know what patents Microsoft is being paid for.
Of the big Android device makers, only Motorola, which is being bought by Google, hasn’t paid Microsoft off yet. Microsoft is well aware of this. In a salvo in the Microsoft/Motorola patent war, Brad Smith and Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s General Counsel & Deputy General Counsel, blogged, “Motorola Mobility [is] the only major Android smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. without a license.”
Considering that Google is buying Motorola Mobility for its mobile patents, I doubt we’ll see Google/Motorola paying off Microsoft without a lot of courtroom fighting. After all, a Google spokesperson responded to news of the Samsung deal by saying, “This is the same tactic we’ve seen time and again from Microsoft. Failing to succeed in the smartphone market, they are resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others’ achievements and hinder the pace of innovation. We remain focused on building new technology and supporting Android partners.”
Yes, there’s no love lost here!
Enjoy your Android profits while you can Microsoft, I foresee legal costs eating into your profit margin, no matter how you measure them, in the years to come.

Lockheed Martin Outlines Ground Combat Vehicles Initiatives

Lockheed Matrin and Patria are offering an amphibious version of the Advanced Modular Vehicle (AMV) for the U.S. marine corp Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC) program. A marinse corps request for proposal is expected within by year's end. The photo above was taken in Finland in 2002, as part of the vehicle's amphibious capability demonstrations.

Lockheed martin has outlined new activities in the field of Ground Combat Vehicles it is developing as a prime contractor  or under cooperation with other primes. Among these activities are the developments of lethality and electronic architecture for the British Scout Specialist Vehicle, and Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) on both programs Lockheed martin has joined forces with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS). For the US Marine Corps Medium Personnel Carrier (MPC) program Lockheed Martin is also offering a derivative of the Patria 8×8 AMV, designed for amphibious operation.
Lockheed Martin is involved with land systems developments for over three decades, with most of the work focused on tracked and wheeled platforms supporting the MLRS program and its derivatives (MLRS, HIMARS, MLRS repair and recovery vehicle. The company is also involved in two major equipment programs in the U.K., namely the Scout SV program, for which they design and develop the turret, weapon systems and electronic architecture, and the Warrior Capability Sustainment program (WCSP) the later program is still awaiting UK MOD approval as Lockheed Martin remains the sole bidder on this program. The Warrior and Scout SV will share the same turret, saving considerably on development logistics and training costs.

Rolling Airframe Missile Block II to Begin Flight Testing

Rolling Airframe Missile Block II to Begin Flight Testing

Raytheon Company and its German industry partner, RAMSYS completed the upgrade integration of the Rolling Airframe Missile Block II preparing the enhanced missile for flight testing later this year.

Second Successful Launch of the Indian Shourya Ballistic Missile

An Indian Shourya ballistic missile launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa coast. Derived from the submarine launched ballistic missile K-15, Shourya uses a waterproof protecting cap ejected after launch (seen in this picture), exposing the aerodynamic shaped cone as the first stage solid rocket ignites for the high-speed ascent.

India has tested the Shourya nuclear-capable surface/surface missile September 24, 2011, at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa coast, about 15 km from Balasore. The missile took off from a 35 foot, underground silo. Shourya is a derivative of the K-15 missile developed by the DRDO for the Indian Navy submarines. The launch marks the second developmental trial of the missile. The first was conducted on November 12, 2008. Both tests were successful.
The missile is being developed by the Indian Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). The two-stage missile is powered by solid propellant. The weapon is described as a ‘hybrid’ missile, that can shape its descent trajectory. To achieve this capability in atmospheric flight the missile uses aerodynamic flight controls enabling sufficient maneuverability to reduce the missile’s vulnerability to missile interceptors while rendering it more accurate for conventional attack. The range of the missile is 750 kilometers.
The Shourya missile can carry a warhead weighing one ton, a weight sufficient for a nuclear device. However, its massive warhead combined with relatively high accuracy of less than 20-30 meters (GPS aided INS) make the Shourya effective for conventional attack of high value targets. Shourya is scheduled to enter service with the Indin Army in 2013.

At Defexpo 2010 the missile was displayed without the container shroud, mounted on a land-mobile erector-launcher. According to V K Saraswat of the India Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the Shaurya can be launched from under water as well as from land. The K-15 missile is contained in a gas-filled canister stored inside the submarine’s hull and uses a two-stage solid propelled rocket after launch. To achieve high accuracy, the missile can perform trajectory corrections using an on-board inertial navigation system.

EGBU-28/BLU-113 Hard Target Penetrator

The EGBU-28/BLU-113 Hard Target Penetrator was first deployed during the First Gulf War in 1991 as a laser guided munition. It is now available with GPS aided guidance (offering all-weather accuracy of less than six meters, or with laser guidance. These 18 foot long (5.7 meters) weapons, weighing 4,400 pounds (2.2 tons) each, are capable of penetrating 20 foot (6 meter) of reinforced concrete or 100 foot of earth (30 meter); these weapons are now a standard weapon with the B-2A Spirit F-15E Strike eagle in USAF service.
Two versions are available – the EGBU-28B/BLU-113 carried by the Strike eagle, employing the GPS enhanced laser guidance kit and GBU-37/GAM, using a GPS Aided Munition guidance kit, carried by the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber. The bombers’ almost undetectable APQ-181 Attack Radar and GPS aided GAM/GATS targeting system provide a true all weather around the clock precision capability. (More on the GBU-28 development at from ausairpower)
The U.S. has recently delivered deep penetration guided bombs to Israel, according to the New York Times quoting unidentified U.S. officials. In the past, Israel requested such weapons several times but delivery was halted due to political pressure. EGBU-28 weapons were already on the way to Israel two years ago but the shipment was diverted elsewhere.