Boeing

Boeing to Enhance Security at U.S. State Department Facilities Worldwide

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has signed a two-year contract with the U.S. Department of State to upgrade the security systems at embassies and consulates worldwide. Boeing will provide its Visual Security Operations Console (VSOC) Sentinel™ solution to integrate the department's legacy and planned security sub-systems at more than 250 State Department locations.

The State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security will oversee operations of the new system, which will strengthen the security protection of embassy buildings and diplomatic personnel by providing network-centric situational awareness and command and control at the global, regional, country, city, compound, building and floor levels.

"Our Integrated Defense and Security Solutions team is providing a vital element to U.S. embassy and consulate operations worldwide," said George Muellner, president of Boeing Advanced Systems. "Each facility has unique challenges at its respective location. Working with the State Department, we were able to address these diverse issues with an enterprise-wide solution that enables the department to execute its mission with increased safety and security."

The Boeing VSOC Sentinel solution includes enterprise software, 3D geospatial databases, systems configuration, and customer hardware and software integration services to support the State Department's Security Management System Enterprise command center operations. The system is based on a common backbone of network-centric back-end servers coupled with geospatially-enabled graphical user interface front-end clients for integration of many different security systems that are managed by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

"The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is looking forward to working with Boeing Integrated Defense Systems on this unique and important project," said Steve Mergens, U.S. Department of State Security Technology director. "Together, we will create a robust, dependable and user-friendly network-based command and control system that integrates our overseas security system at headquarters. As a result, the department will have real time security data available for decision makers to evaluate and act upon."

The Boeing VSOC system offers various benefits to the State Department:

  • Reduces performance risk because it is based on a proven State Department prototype comprised of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and Boeing-developed software.
  • Minimizes cost by leveraging the State Department's investment in legacy access control, alarm management and video surveillance equipment.
  • Provides globally-available situational awareness, command and control with common front-end message formats, and user-accessible workflow processing.
  • Increases personnel security by providing security officers with the information and tools they need to immediately detect, identify and respond to a threat before it becomes serious or life-threatening.
  • Provides automated system/sensor inputs, coordinated decision making and work-flow generated notifications for incident responses based on existing policies and procedures.

Integration of the Boeing VSOC Sentinel solution into State Department facilities is scheduled to begin immediately.

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 $30.8 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; a foremost developer of advanced concepts and technologies; 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.
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For further information:
Robert Villanueva
Boeing Advanced Systems
mobile: (714) 654-8930
office: (562) 496-5688
robert.s.villanueva@boeing.com