Boeing Combat Survivor Evader Locater (CSEL) Radio Program Receives $43.6 Million Full-Rate Production Order from U.S. Air Force
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing [NYSE: BA] a full-rate production (FRP) contract for the Combat Survivor Evader Locater (CSEL) communications system.
The initial $43.6 million order calls for Boeing to deliver 5,053 CSEL hand-held radios to the joint services by October 2006. The acquisition of as many as 46,000 CSEL radios by the Air Force, Army and Navy could push the total value of the contract to $250 million.
"This is revolutionary technology that will forever change the way combat search-and-rescue missions are conducted," said Michael Bates, Boeing's CSEL program manager. "Using communications satellites and global positioning technology, CSEL radios will save lives by providing real time encrypted information about the precise location of isolated personnel such as downed pilots. The search aspect has been taken out of 'search-and-rescue' missions. Thanks to the technology in CSEL, it's now all about the rescue."
Designed for easy use, the multifunction CSEL radio is a cost-effective technological breakthrough giving U.S. forces a tactical advantage. Unique communication and message encryption techniques prevent signals from being intercepted or decoded.
In addition to precise geopositioning information, the hand-held survival radios provide line-of-sight recovery forces and over-the-horizon joint search and rescue centers with two-way secure data communications capability. CSEL will enable rescue forces to authenticate and communicate with isolated personnel in near real-time, anywhere the world.
The CSEL system, a joint services program, was developed by Boeing under contract to the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.5 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; 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 sustainment solutions and launch services.
###
For further information: