Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] and ESW-EXTEL SYSTEMS WEDEL of Wedel, Germany, have signed a licensing agreement allowing ESW-EXTEL SYSTEMS WEDEL to refurbish international airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft rotodomes using Boeing's proprietary refurbishment process.

This new process nearly triples -- to approximately 20 years -- the service life of corrosion protection and will help reduce maintenance, repair and overhaul costs to AWACS operators.

ESW-EXTEL SYSTEMS WEDEL currently performs rotodome refurbishments for NATO AWACS operators.

"Licensing agreements complement Boeing's core business and play an important role in providing products and services that help maintain the readiness of our customers' products," said Torbjorn Sjogren, vice president of International Support Systems for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

"This milestone is the result of extensively working together toward a common objective. Emphasizing extensive communication was decisive in focusing our attention on bringing added value and satisfaction to Boeing and ESW's customers," said Dr. Bob F. O'Donovan, ESW's international business development manager.

AWACS rotodomes are composite structures that house surveillance radar mission equipment. The rotating domes, which measure approximately 30 feet (10 meters) in diameter and weigh 4,000 pounds (1.8 tons), are mounted atop the fuselage of a Boeing 707 or 767 platform aircraft.

The new licensing agreement with ESW-Extel was established through Boeing's Intellectual Property Business, which helps the company create, protect and leverage intellectual property as a strategic resource.