News Briefs

Two BAE Systems 70-mm laser-guided rockets, developed for the Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System II (APKWS II) competition, recently completed successful flight tests at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., by making direct hits -- one on a moving target over two miles away. The Nashua, N.H.-based maker of advanced defense and aerospace systems also announced it will bid as prime contractor for this fall's APKWS II competition and has partnered with global defense company Northrop Grumman Corp. as systems integrator. . . . LTX Corp. of Westwood, Mass., a provider of semiconductor test solutions, has named David G. Tacelli as CEO. He was also elected to the company's board of directors. Tacelli, currently the company's president and COO, succeeds Roger W. Blethen, who continues as board chairman. The changes are effective Nov. 1, the start of the company's next fiscal quarter. . . . Bedford, Mass.-based Spire Corp., a provider of solar energy manufacturing equipment, biomedical devices and optoelectronic components, has appointed Edward Hurley as photovoltaic equipment sales manager. Hurley has previously worked in semiconductor capital equipment sales at General Scanning, Teradyne and PEI. . . . Quintessence Photonics Corp. has received a contract from a US defense contractor for delivery and performance testing of its BrightLase semiconductor lasers with internal Bragg gratings for an undisclosed defense application. Quintessence Photonics, with headquarters in Sylmar, Calif., is a developer of high-brightness, high-power semiconductor lasers for the industrial, defense and medical markets. . . . Silicon solar cell and solar panel manufacturer SunPower Corp. of Sunnyvale, Calif., a subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp., has named Peter McKenzie as manager for the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, China, Southeast Asia and Australia. McKenzie has more than 20 years of experience developing solar energy markets in the Asia-Pacific region for a variety of solar companies.