The Watkins-Johnson Company was founded in 1957 in Palo Alto, CA; from 1966 onwards it was known as the Watkins-Johnson Company Telecommunications Group in Gaithersburg, MA, manufacturing communications equipment primarily for military and intelligence agencies; at last 450 people were employed.

Probably after 1998, Watkins-Johnson was acquired by Marconi and then by BAE SYSTEMS North America (British Aerospace). The Gaithersburg facility was acquired by Integrated Defense Technologies IDT in 2002 for US$146 million, which then was acquired by DRS Technologies Inc. in November 2003 (DRS Electronic Systems, Inc., 200 Professional Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20879).

With the HF-1000, Watkins-Johnson produced a single DSP-capable semi - professional receiver after 1993, targeting radio amateurs and others.