Boeing

Boeing Dedicates New AWACS Support Facility

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] this week dedicated a new Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Technology Center (MROTC) in Oklahoma City, Okla. The center will provide readiness capabilities and upgrades to the U.S. Air Force E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet.

The MROTC development project is a joint venture between Trammell Crow Company and Battelle Memorial Institute with the support of state and local government and private industry. In 2005, Boeing signed a lease with the MROTC development partners to construct three hangars that will be used for the AWACS upgrades.

Located across from Tinker Air Force Base, the first AWACS hangar represents the initial phase of development for the MROTC. It is planned as a major military and commercial aircraft facility with 17 hangars and more than one million square feet of related industrial space and education and training facilities.

AWACS represents the world's standard for airborne early warning and control systems. AWACS offers superior surveillance capabilities and fills the needs of both command and control and air battle management functions for tactical and air defense forces. Equipped with a "look-down" radar, AWACS can separate airborne targets from ground and sea clutter returns. It also can detect and track both air and sea targets simultaneously.

The initial fleet upgrades at the MROTC involve flight navigation and communications systems. Future modernizations known as Block 40/45 include new mission computing hardware and software, improved operational console displays and controls, and upgraded radar equipment. Boeing and Tinker personnel will begin installing the enhancements in 2009.

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:
Madonna Walsh
Boeing Media Relations for MROTC
office: (314) 234-1362
mobile: (314) 705-0717
Madonna.a.walsh@boeing.com
Dave Sloan
Boeing Media Relations for AWACS
office: (253) 657-3046
David.a.sloan@boeing.com