Boeing officials
today announced a teaming agreement with Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
to develop laser communications technologies that will improve the efficiency
of satellite communications by a factor of ten or more.
The team combines the strengths of Boeing, a leader in communications
systems for commercial and government markets, and Ball Aerospace, a leader in
remote sensing, acquisition, and pointing and tracking. Under the terms of
the agreement, Boeing and Ball Aerospace will jointly market laser
communications technology as merchant suppliers to the U.S. government and its
suppliers.
“As the need continues to grow for the rapid transmission of increasingly
larger amounts of information, satellite-based laser communications is vital,”
said Dr. Roger Roberts, senior vice president of Boeing Space and Intelligence
Systems (S&IS), Boeing’s center for intelligence programs. “Our customers are
moving to a network-centric environment, where platforms and systems become
nodes on a super network. Near-immediate access to information on this
network is critical, and laser communication technologies are capable of
addressing that need.”
“Ball Aerospace’s joint effort with Boeing in laser communications
combines the unique strengths of both companies to offer the lowest risk and
best value solution to the many emerging applications requiring high bandwidth
communications,” said Mike Cerneck, vice president and general manager of Ball
Aerospace’s Defense Operations.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. provides remote sensing systems and
solutions to the aerospace and defense markets. It is a subsidiary of Ball
Corporation , which in addition to owning Ball Aerospace, is one of
the leading suppliers of metal and plastic packaging to the beverage and food
industries. Ball Aerospace had sales in 2002 of $491 million.
S&IS is a leader in large-scale systems integration, Intelligence,
Surveillance and Reconnaissance, or ISR, systems, communication systems,
network systems, and protection and security systems. ISR systems provide
critical information that support the integrated battlespace, a networked
communications system that supports battlefield decision-making by collecting,
assimilating, visualizing, and distributing real-time data to those who make
life-and-death decisions to protect the peace and defend a nation.
Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems is a unit of Boeing Integrated
Defense Systems, one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses.
Headquartered in St. Louis, Integrated Defense Systems is a $25 billion
business. It provides systems solutions to its global military, government
and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance; the world’s largest military aircraft
manufacturer; the world’s largest satellite manufacturer and a leading
provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for
U.S. missile defense; NASA’s largest contractor; and a global leader in
satellite launch services.
