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Posted December 17, 2018

Harris Corporation plans to invest more than $125 million in internal research and development in Florida this fiscal year. The company’s Sunshine State presence will be bolstered by its recently announced plans to merge with L3 Technologies.

The combined company, L3 Harris Technologies, will be headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, creating opportunities for additional employment and investment growth in the state.

According to company officials, its Florida-based R&D activities primarily will take place at the company’s Central Florida locations and focus on areas such as electronic warfare, robotics, avionics and smallsats.

The region will receive over a third of the company’s overall $300 million-plus annual internal R&D budget, representing an industry-leading 5 percent of company revenue. The total excludes customer-funded R&D.

The internal R&D will support the company’s nearly 7,000 employment base in Florida, including over 3,300 engineers and scientists, as well as generate new high-paying positions, company officials said. The company pays an average salary of $95,000 in Florida and has about 375 openings in the state, primarily in engineering.

“As the largest Aerospace and Defense company headquartered in Florida, Harris Corp. plays an integral role in our state,” said U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). “With the announcement of this research and development, I’m pleased to see that they are continuing to invest in our state’s aerospace industry and economy as well as the future of U.S. national security.”

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