8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                              Washington, D.C.  20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 Current Report

                         Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
                     of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
                 -------------------------------------------------

          Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 7, 1998

                                   SAWTEK INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                                     Florida
                          (State or other jurisdiction
                                of incorporation)

                                     000-28276
                              (Commission File No.)

                                     59-1864440
                        (IRS Employer Identification No.)

                             1818 South Highway 441
                              Apopka, Florida 32703
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

                                  (407) 886-8860
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)







Item 5.           Other Events.

                  Sawtek Inc. announced today that Microsensor Systems, Inc. has
entered into a letter of intent to merge into Sawtek. The contemplated merger is
proposed   as  an  exchange  of  common   stock  to  be   accounted   for  as  a
pooling-of-interests  and is subject to entering into a definitive agreement and
satisfaction of customary closing conditions.  The amount of Sawtek shares to be
exchanged is less than one percent (1%) of the total outstanding.

Item 7.           Financial Statements and Exhibits

Exhibit 99.1      Sawtek Inc. Press Release dated January 7, 1998








                                    SIGNATURE


                  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934,  the  registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                   SAWTEK INC.



                                   By:      /s/ Raymond A. Link
                                            Vice President Finance and
                                            Chief Financial Officer



January 7, 1998

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1
                                                       NEWS RELEASE
                                                       Contact: Ray Link
                                                       Chief Financial Officer
                                                       Sawtek Inc.
                                                       Tel:  407/884-3344
                                                       Fax:  407/886-7061
                                                       E-mail:  rl@sawtek.com
For Immediate Release

                      SAWTEK AND MICROSENSOR SYSTEMS, INC.
                           ENTER INTO LETTER OF INTENT

Orlando,  Florida, January 7, 1998 -- Sawtek Inc. (Nasdaq: SAWS) announced today
that Microsensor Systems, Inc. has entered into a letter of intent to merge into
Sawtek. The contemplated merger is proposed as an exchange of common stock to be
accounted  for as a  pooling-of-interests  and is  subject  to  entering  into a
definitive  agreement and  satisfaction  of customary  closing  conditions.  The
amount of Sawtek  shares to be  exchanged  is less than one percent  (1%) of the
total outstanding.

Microsensor  Systems,  Inc.,  a  privately-held  firm  based in  Bowling  Green,
Kentucky,  conducts  research  and  development,  and designs  and  manufactures
scientific  instruments  for the chemical  sensor  market  using  polymer-coated
surface  acoustic wave (SAW) devices and other  technologies.  Its main products
include a SAW MINICAD system used for chemical agent  detection and the EO Eagle
used to detect ethylene oxide emissions in hospitals.

Steven  P.  Miller,  Chairman  & CEO of  Sawtek  Inc.,  said  "the  addition  of
Microsensor Systems, Inc. will greatly enhance and accelerate Sawtek's SAW-based
chemical  sensor  initiative  by  providing  us with a variety  of  products,  a
customer base and significant technical expertise."

Sawtek Inc. is a leading  supplier of electronic  signal  processing  components
based on surface acoustic wave ("SAW")  technology.  The Company's primary focus
is custom designed,  high-performance bandpass filters, resonators, delay lines,
oscillators and SAW-based subsystems. These products are used in a wide array of
microwave  and  radio  frequency  systems  such as CDMA  and  GSM-based  digital
telephone systems, digital microwave radios, wireless local area networks, cable
television, and a variety of defense and satellite systems.

Sawtek trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "SAWS."






Forward-looking  statements in this release are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor
provisions  of the Private  Securities  Litigation  Act of 1995.  Investors  are
cautioned that such forward-looking  statements involve risks and uncertainties,
such  as  statements  of  the  Company's  plans,  objectives,  expectations  and
intentions.  The  cautionary  statements  made in this release should be read as
being applicable to all related forward-looking  statements wherever they appear
in this release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those
discussed.  Factors that could cause or contribute to such  differences  include
the  following:  the  Company's  dependence  on  continuing  demand for wireless
communications  services and CDMA technology,  particularly  CDMA handset units;
economic  recessions in the Asia-Pacific region or other geographic areas of the
world;  dependence  on a limited  number of  customers,  which are  expected  to
continue to account for a high  percentage  of the  Company's  future net sales;
fluctuations in the Company's  quarterly results and backlog which may be caused
by such  factors as product mix  changes,  price  competition,  availability  of
manufacturing  capacity,  and customer order  cancellation or rescheduling;  the
Company's  dependence on its timely  development of new or improved SAW products
(such as SAW  chemical  sensors)  to meet  changing  market  needs;  the risk of
competing  technologies  which could replace or reduce the use of SAW technology
for certain  applications,  as well as other risks as  discussed in Sawtek's SEC
reports, including Form 10-K filed for fiscal year 1997.