National Technical Systems Inc., a Calabasas engineering and testing company, announced Thursday it has acquired Trace Laboratories in Baltimore. Trace has test facilities in suburban Chicago that perform product-safety, mechanical and fluids testing, and in Hunt Valley, Md., that perform failure-analysis testing of printed circuit boards and circuit assemblies. National Technical provides testing and engineering services for the aerospace, defense and transportation industries at facilities throughout the United States, including a 150-acre site in Santa Clarita. It is owned by Aurora Capital Group, an L.A. private equity investment firm. Chief Executive William McGinnis said the acquisition adds to the management and engineering competence at National Technical, as well expanding its geographic reach. “We are adding capabilities to our growing array of services that we would previously outsource,” he said in a prepared statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.