Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA], the prime contractor for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX), has signed an agreement to mentor Aleut Technologies, a Native Alaskan-owned small business that provides vital support services for the radar platform.

Aleut Technologies furnishes the SBX with an escort vessel, refueling and other services, and will provide primary support services at the SBX's future base at Adak, Alaska. Under the three-year Mentor-Protégé agreement, Boeing will provide training to Aleut Technologies in such areas as business development and program management to help the year-old Alaskan company improve its business and technical capabilities and compete for future defense contracts.

"We are proud to be associated with Aleut Technologies and with this Mentor-Protégé agreement, the latest in a series that Boeing has established with small and disadvantaged companies," said Pat Shanahan, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems. "Mentor-Protégé agreements are a priority for Boeing because they promote the growth of suppliers and strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base."

The U.S. Department of Defense Mentor-Protégé Program pairs large companies with eligible small businesses to enhance their capabilities and enable them to successfully compete for larger, more complex prime contract and subcontract awards.

Aleut Technologies uses a marine vessel, The Dove, to support the SBX. The SBX, which was assembled in Texas, will be homeported at Adak, Alaska, starting later this year and will be capable of moving throughout the Pacific Ocean to support missile defense testing and operations.

The radar platform provides advanced sensor coverage for the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, which is designed to protect the United States and its allies and friends against long-range ballistic missiles. Boeing is GMD's prime contractor.