Saidin Dynamics
Saidin Dynamics is an American-based defense contractor headquartered in Portland, Oregon. It is famous for highly experimental weapons systems, though it deals in more traditional platforms as well.
History
Early Roots
Saidin Dynamics can trace its roots back to a partnership between inventor and wealthy heiress Aimée Dubois and engineer Hans Schmidt. Schmidt had fled Germany in early 1924 in the wake of the Beer Hall Putsch, fearing his specialization in weapons would soon be put to use by increasingly powerful forces in Germany with which he did not align.
Het met Dubois at a cafe in Paris when he noticed schematics she was drawing while drinking at a street cafe. The two quickly became friends.
Aimée was developing a specialized rifling system, but Hans saw her expertise and wealth as an opportunity to manufacture and distribute weaponry in what he predicted would be a major upcoming conflict in Europe.
Together, the two established Manufacture d'Biche Blanche (White Doe Manufacturing, a reference to a French folktale used as propaganda in World War I). They used Aimée's considerable fortune to establish a manufacturing plant in Rouen, France. This plant was completed in July of 1937.
Involvement in World War II
When France entered World War II in 1939, Manufacture d'Biche Blanche was well-positioned to provide weaponry to the French and British military. The company's plant was relatively unscathed by the capture of Rouen by the Germans and its subsequent Ally liberation.
In America
Following World War II, Dubois shifted her focus back to R&D, allowing Schmidt to run the company and its manufacturing.
In early 1953, Dubois met American engineer Alex MacArthur and the two began working together. Eventually, the two also entered a romantic relationship. In 1954, Dubois moved to America and the two were married, leaving Manufacture d'Biche Blanche to be run solely by her old business partner, Schmidt. Dubois and MacArther established "Lazarus Dynamics," in New York. Their focus was on newly discovered laser technology with the intent to implement military applications for the emergent field. They worked closely with Columbia University and pioneers in the field of lasers.
In 1961, Schmidt died of pancreatic cancer and Dubois became sole owner of Manufacture d'Biche Blanche and their French manufacturing plant. She quickly closed down the plant and moved its manufacturing to America, establishing a new plant in Spokane, WA.
Founder Death and Consolidation in America
In 1973, Dubois and MacArthur died in an explosion caused by a failed experiment in their lab. Lazarus Dynamics and Manufacture d'Biche Blanche both passed to their son, Isaac MacArthur. Despite his young age (19) and lack of experience, Isaac decided to take an active role in leadership, and moved quickly to consolidate the two companies into a single one: "Auspice."
He took the company public in 1975 as "Auspice Systems" (AUS), with an IPO of $7.1m.
Isaac was aggressive in contract-seeking, and Auspice supplied weapons to world governments and terrorist organizations alike throughout the 1980s.
Prosecution and Rebranding
In 2003 in an investigation by Homeland Security, it was discovered that Auspice Systems was selling arms to Saddam Hussein and his Ba'athist government. The company was quick to shift blame to senior executives, who were fired, and subsequently tried and convicted by US authorities.
Following the scandal, Auspice's board of directors initiated a rebranding of the company, with Isaac renaming it to "Saidin Dynamics," a reference to The Wheel of Time novels. Isaac took a more silent role in the company after the rebranding.
Modern Day
Though he generally kept out of the public eye after the Iraq scandal, Isaac continued to play a role in dealmaking for the company's contracts, especially overseas.
In 2022, while on a trip to Iran, Isaac was murdered by Al'qaeda militants in what appeared to be a deal gone wrong. The company passed to his estranged son, Jeremy Wagstaff.
Wagstaff is a reclusive owner who appears to mostly have distanced himself from the company.