Boeing

Boeing Australia Limited has been awarded a AUD$20 million contract to provide ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based services to the Australian Army in Afghanistan.

Throughout the six-month agreement, Boeing Australia Limited will work closely with the Australian Army to provide vital surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for Australian and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The level of ScanEagle services to be provided will be at a significantly higher operational tempo those currently being provided for the Army's Overwatch Battle Group in Iraq.

The Afghanistan ScanEagle services contract builds on recent successes in Iraq, where Boeing Australia Limited has been under contract to the Australian Army since late November 2006, said Boeing Australia Limited President David Withers.

"Boeing Australia Limited has worked closely with the Commonwealth of Australia and our partner Insitu, Inc. to stand up this UAV capability in such a short timeframe. We are exceptionally proud of this achievement and of our team who have worked hard to instill customer confidence in the ScanEagle system," said Withers. "We look forward to continuing support of the Australian Army during the Afghanistan deployment and delivering even higher standards of excellence for the ScanEagle UAV capability in this new theatre."

Insitu, Inc. manufactures the fully autonomous ScanEagle UAV in Bingen, Wash. Under the new contract, Boeing Australia Limited and Insitu also will provide contractor personnel to support the Afghanistan deployment.

Insitu, Inc. develops miniature robotic aircraft for commercial and military applications. Insitu introduced the first UAV to cross the Atlantic Ocean and is developing vehicles for civilian applications. For more information about the company, see www.insitu.com.