Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] today opened the first two of a planned network of new facilities designed to bring the company's networked modeling and simulation capabilities closer to its military customers.

The two Boeing Integration Center-Distributed Environments (BIC-DEs) in Hampton and Norfolk, Va., will serve as viewing portals for distributed network-centric demonstrations involving multiple Boeing sites, including the two primary Boeing Integration Center (BIC) sites in Anaheim, Calif., and Crystal City, Va.

"The BIC Distributed Environment nodes provide our customers with an easy and convenient option to view Boeing's networked activities without having to travel," AMS Vice President Guy Higgins said. "This is the initial step in more closely involving customers in future interactive experiments at both BIC-DEs and at their own facilities."

The next two BIC-DE installations will open in Boston and Colorado Springs, Co., later this year. The capability of the BIC-DE sites will be expanded to include the ability to actively participate in multi-site demonstrations as interactive nodes in the Boeing network. The main BICs and the BIC-DE network are operated by Boeing's Analysis, Modeling and Simulation (AMS) organization.

The Boeing network is evolving into one that can more quickly connect distributed sites and more realistically emulate the warfighting environment. The company, its customers and industry partners are able to bring multiple nodes into the network, each with a unique capability making the network more powerful and adaptable.