Boeing And SAIC Team For Future Combat Systems Effort.

Business Editors

SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2002

By combining their skills and efforts, two former competitors for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program have created a team whose experience in large-scale systems integration, communications, and combat systems can provide the Army with the industry leadership it is seeking as the program transitions into its next phase.

Both The Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) led separate teams for Phase One of the FCS program.

FCS is a networked system-of-systems -- backbone of the Army's long-term transition plan to reach what they call the "objective force" -- that will serve as the core building block to develop the overmatching combat power, sustainability, agility and versatility necessary for full spectrum military operations.

This force will be lighter and more mobile; the Army transformation requirements include the ability to put a combat-capable brigade anywhere in the world within 96 hours, a full division in 120 hours, and five divisions on the ground within 30 days.

Phantom Works and the Space and Communications business unit jointly lead the effort for Boeing. They are leveraging the company's large-scale systems integration experience on programs such as the Apache helicopter, Ground-Based Missile Defense, and the International Space Station into their concept in order to provide the lead system integration (LSI) expertise being sought by DARPA and the Army, the procuring agencies for FCS.

"I think that we have an excellent understanding of the complexities -- and challenges -- of a large system-of-systems such as the Future Combat Systems," Ron Prosser, Vice President Advanced Space & Communications, said from the proposal center in Seattle.

"SAIC brings a team of experienced senior engineers and scientists with strong DARPA and Army programmatic experience and expertise that is critical to the FCS program: systems engineering; modeling, simulation; test and evaluation; combat systems; command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance," said John Gully, SAIC corporate vice president, who led SAIC's Phase One team.

Boeing Space and Communications (S&C), with headquarters in Seal Beach, is the world's largest space and communications company. A unit of The Boeing Co., S&C provides integrated solutions in missile defense, information and communications, launch services, and human space flight and exploration. It is a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and NASA's largest contractor. The global enterprise has customers worldwide and manufacturing operations throughout the United States and Australia.

SAIC is the nation's largest employee-owned research and engineering company, providing information technology, systems integration and e-business products and services to commercial and government customers. SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in telecommunications, national security, health care, transportation, energy, the environment and financial services. With annual revenues of $5.9 billion, SAIC and its subsidiaries, including Telcordia Technologies, have more than 40,000 employees at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide. More information about SAIC can be found on the Internet at www.saic.com.