FIRMS SIGN AIRCRAFT PACT BOEING, GENERAL ATOMICS INK DEAL.Byline: Daily News General Atomics General Atomics is a nuclear physics and defense contractor headquartered in San Diego, California. Among other things, it is the manufacturer of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau Systems and Boeing signed an agreement
to discuss areas of cooperation in unmanned systems, network-centric
operations and other large-scale systems integration efforts.
The initial area of cooperation under the memorandum of understanding A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a legal document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action and may not imply a legal commitment. will involve integrating the command and control architecture for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' Predator unmanned aircraft Unmanned Aircraft (UA) is a term used in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) definition of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). UA refers to the aircraft portion of the system required to operate it, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. into the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) is an aircraft system designed to carry out surveillance, and C2BM (command and control, battle management) functions. airplanes and AH-64 Apache helicopters. The ultimate goal is to increase ``interoperability'' between manned and unmanned aircraft. ``Establishment of a working relationship with Boeing and other leading companies could have significant benefits for the customer, which is our ultimate goal. Interoperability between manned and unmanned aircraft systems will be key to making 'network centric' a successful concept for the military,'' said Thomas J. Cassidy Jr., president and chief executive officer of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. ``This agreement provides two of the aerospace industry's technology leaders with an opportunity to pool their talents and play an even stronger role in the fields of unmanned systems and network-centric operations, which are so important to the transformation of the military,'' said Mike Heinz, vice president and general manager, deputy of Integrated Defense Advanced Systems, which encompasses unmanned systems. ``We plan to rapidly develop and provide new technologies and system-of-system solutions to our customers that will meet their evolving needs with currently fielded and developing systems, and lead to major increases in operational effectiveness.'' General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Boeing will also consider working together to identify, develop and capture specific new business opportunities. The agreement also allows the companies to share relevant business development strategies and information to help anticipate evolving customer needs. Founded in 1993, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems manufactures Predator remote-controlled spy planes used in Afghanistan and Iraq. Manufactured in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. County, the craft get their final check-out flights from a private airfield in eastern Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley . |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion