23 Jan 2008 | Ref. 023/2008
LEXINGTON, Massachusetts — BAE Systems today opened a new 33,000-square-foot electro-optics and infrared (EO/IR) sensor technology design center. The facility will expand the company’s ability to deliver its EO/IR sensor products to military forces around the world.
The EO/IR Design Center, at 12-18 Hartwell Ave., “will be the source of future innovation at BAE Systems’ infrared imaging business,” said Steve Jamison, BAE Systems vice president and general manager in Lexington. “It will expand our capability to meet the current and future technology needs of our fighting men and women.”
Among the products that will be designed and tested at the new facility, which will employ 96 people, is BAE Systems’ new Enhanced Night Vision Digital Goggle. The company is under contract with the U.S. Army to develop the helmet-mounted goggle, which converts infrared energy — heat radiated by people, vehicles, and other sources — to video images. The technology, which enables soldiers to “see” through darkness, smoke, and other obscurants, is at the core of BAE Systems’ Lexington product line.
“The facility’s location provides for collaboration with our neighboring military facilities” — the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick and Hanscom Air Force Base — “and is within driving distance of our many suppliers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire,” Jamison said. “As we continue to grow our business, this will mean more high-quality jobs throughout the region.”
Massachusetts Rep. Jay Kaufman attended the event, along with representatives from the offices of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, and other state and local officials.
About BAE Systems
BAE Systems is the premier global defense and aerospace company, delivering a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions, and customer support services. With 96,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems had 2006 sales that exceeded $27 billion *.
* On a pro forma basis, assuming BAE Systems had owned Armor Holdings Inc for the whole of 2006
For further information, please contact:
Mary Corrigan, BAE Systems
Tel: +1 781 863 3023 Mobile: +1 978 875 0263
mary.corrigan@baesystems.com
Shannon Smith, BAE Systems
Tel: +1 703 907 8257 Mobile: +1 703 967 3854
shannon.n.smith@baesystems.com
