Boeing Receives US Army Contract for Tactical Intelligence Aircraft

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 6, 2010 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that it has received a two-year engineering and manufacturing development contract for the Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) from the U.S. Army. EMARSS is a manned, airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system. It will provide a persistent capability to detect, locate, classify/identify and track surface targets in nearly all weather conditions, day or night, with a high degree of timeliness and accuracy.

The initial contract covers the engineering and manufacturing development of four aircraft, with options for two additional aircraft, six low rate initial production aircraft, and interim contractor logistics support. The total performance of the contract, if all options are exercised, is 42 months.

Boeing’s EMARSS will consist of a commercial derivative aircraft, the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350. The aircraft will be equipped with an electro-optic and infrared full-motion video sensor; a communications intelligence collection system; an aerial precision guidance system; line-of-sight tactical and beyond line-of-sight communications suites; two operator workstations, and a self-protection suite.

"The Boeing team is honored to have been selected for the EMARSS contract,” said Darryl Davis, president of Boeing Phantom Works. “We believe our technical approach, combined with our previous airborne sensor and communication systems integration experience, provides strong value to the Army and Department of Defense."

"By working closely with our business partners in Phantom Works, we were able to rapidly define and develop a solution tailored to the warfighter’s needs," said Roger Krone, president of Boeing Network & Space Systems. "The sensor and network capabilities Boeing is offering, along with the reliability and flexibility of the King Air platform, will provide the Army with a new level of battlefield mission support."