2008
Boeing acquires Digital Receiver Technology
ST. LOUIS- The Boeing Company has completed its acquisition of Digital Receiver Technology Inc. (DRT), a Germantown, Md.-based company that develops wireless surveillance products for government customers.
DRT’s digital signal processing products, such as wireless receivers and transceivers, are used by U.S. intelligence customers, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to collect signals intelligence and threat warnings. DRT has approximately 370 employees, with the majority located in Germantown. The acquisition, announced Nov. 14, 2008, is part of Boeing’s strategy to expand its presence in the growing intelligence market.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. DRT will operate within Boeing Integrated Defense Systems’ Network & Space Systems unit.
2008
Former Boeing engineer to get probation, fine in documents case
Anti-aircraft specialist pleaded guilty to taking classified data from El Segundo plant.
A former Boeing aerospace engineer was sentenced Monday in federal court to three years probation and a $25,000 fine for taking classified documents from his employer’s El Segundo plant.
Abraham Lesnik, 62, who specialized in aircraft anti-missile systems for Boeing, pleaded guilty in July to one felony count of unauthorized possession of defense information.
Before sentencing, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper, in Los Angeles, said Lesnik clearly had no intention of selling the information or showing it to anyone else. In a tearful apology, Lesnik told the judge that he was a workaholic.
2008
Boeing faces second whistle-blower suit
SEATTLE, Dec. 3 (UPI) — A former Boeing employee filed suit against the company in Seattle, claiming he was fired for speaking to reporters about ethical violations.
Boeing told former internal auditor Mathew Neumann he was fired for unauthorized contact with the media, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Wednesday.
Neumann said Boeing ignored his warnings that it was violating auditing standards, then fired him after he spoke with reporters who showed up at his office uninvited to confirm information about a story detailing the company’s troubles complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
2008
Boeing Airborne Laser Team Fires Science Fiction Doom
Synchronous Orbit Laser depicted in the movie Akira.
According to Webwire Boeing and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency fired a high-energy laser weapons system from Edwards Air Force Base completing the first ground test straight from a science fiction horror.
“This test is significant because it demonstrated that the Airborne Laser missile defense program has successfully integrated the entire weapon system aboard the ABL aircraft” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems. “With the achievement of the first firing of the laser aboard the aircraft in September, the team has now completed the two major milestones it hoped to accomplish in 2008, keeping ABL on track to conduct the missile shoot down demonstrations from a moving aircraft sometime next year”
The aircraft is a modified Boeing 747-400F whose back half holds the high-energy laser, designed and built by Northrop Grumman. The front section of the aircraft contains the beam control/fire control system, developed by Lockheed Martin, and the battle management system, provided by Boeing.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world’s largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.1 billion business with 71,000 employees worldwide.
2008
Boeing seeks racist hiring policy for security needs
By Daryl Passmore (The Courier-Mail)
AEROSPACE manufacturer Boeing has asked for the right to refuse employment on racial grounds within Queensland to comply with US security requirements.The move is being opposed by Queensland’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.
The firm, which is based in Chicago but has operations worldwide, says it has to exclude some nationalities in order to comply with US security regulations. It was “reluctantly” seeking the exemption from the Anti-Discrimination tribunal.
Is racial discrimination against jobseekers OK in special cases?
2008
Obama’s NSA Man is a War Profiteer from Chevron & Boeing
James L. Jones NATO SACEUR & COMUS EUCOM (2003-2006)
By Spencer “Thunberball” Thayer
You may have read the speculation around Obama choice James L. Jones (Wiki / SourceWatch) for the cabinet position of National Security Adviser. So far, the mainstream media has depicted him as a generally uninteresting retired Marine Corps General. What the news has yet to report is that ol’ JJ has extremely dubious connections with both Chevron and Boeing, and that he serves as an adviser to a slew of other companies that have connections to the Military Industrial Complex.
As a military man, his record is stellar. James Jones has logged 40 years of military service, including one stint as the head of NATO and another as the commander of U.S. forces in Europe. He retired early in 2007 and was allowed to dip his hand in the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) revolving cookie car by joining the boards of directors of Boeing and Chevron, as well as Invacare Corp., which produces medical equipment. He also serves as a consultant to Cross Match Technologies, a biometrics company that works with the Pentagon and FBI, and serves on the board of advisers to MIC Industries, which developed the “Ultimate Building Machine” - a mobile construction device used exclusively in Iraq and Afghanistan to rapidly deploy steel structures for military objectives. This impressive list of business connections makes a lot of sense. This general knows the score- so if you’re a company with a military contract this is the guy to have in your pocket.
2008
Worried about your job, become a War Profiteer!
According to a University of Alaska Fairbanks study released today Boeing’s missile defense work added $246 million dollars last year to the Alaskan economy and supported more than 700 direct and indirect jobs [link]. Of course the School of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducted the study on Boeing’s behalf so the accuracy of the stats may be questionable or at the very least should be looked into. The issues remains…
With our faltering economy and an increasing trend towards outsourcing manufacturing jobs arguments for war profiteering such as, “…in rural areas of Alaska, where the economic activity stimulated by Boeing has offered stable, high-paying employment for residents whose options are very limited,” and, “this has allowed many families to remain in these local and rural communities, supporting property values, preserving indigenous businesses, local governments and other services,” are extremely difficult to challenge. This is not an easy question and KBC would like to ask it’s readers how they feel about this issue- in other words leave a comment.
How does the Anti-War movement mobilize the American people against War Profiteering when at first glance it seems that this is our last stable market?
2008
Under the Rug: How much did Boeing pay for Tapestry Solutions?
Yesterday, Boeing’s St. Louis department (where the weapons come from) announced they have purchase the San Diego-based Tapestry Solutions Inc. for an undisclosed sum of money. Tapestry Solutions Inc. (TSI) is a lesser-known war profiteer that specializes in “Military Modeling and Simulation Training Tools.” The purchase of TSI will allow Boeing to catch up to Lockheed Martin by integrating the company into their Integrated Defense Systems unit. TSI will expand their software service and support systems to include the tracking and distribution of equipment, spare parts and personnel for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Tapestry Solutions Inc. has been in the headlines before, when two contractors working in the Persian Gulf were ambushed in Kuwait in late January 2008. In this incident, Michael Pouliot, the company’s co-founder, was killed and David J. Caraway, a software engineer, was wounded.
According to Businessweek.com, Boeing shares fell $3.83, or 7.7 percent, yesterday, closing at $45.72.
2008
Fired employee sues Boeing in whistle-blower case
Says company violated audit standards
Editor’s note: The reporter who wrote this story is named in the lawsuit as the reporter who talked with Nicholas Tides.
A fired Boeing employee struck back at his former employer Friday with a federal lawsuit leveling serious charges against the Chicago-based aerospace firm.
Among other things, the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle charges that Boeing was disingenuous in its efforts to comply with the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. It also charges that Boeing hired PricewaterhouseCoopers auditors who violated government-mandated auditing standards.
In mid-2007, former Boeing information technology auditor Nicholas Tides raised concerns to several managers about “potentially illegal conduct.” Boeing’s director of human resources told him, “We’d appreciate it if you’d just shut up,” the lawsuit says.
Such a comment would contradict The Boeing Co.’s public assurances that the company welcomes employees to raise ethics concerns.
2008
Boeing ordered to pay ICO $236M in damages
Says company violated audit standards
LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles jury has ordered Boeing Co. to pay $236 million in punitive damages for breaching a contract to build and launch satellites for a company headed by cellular phone pioneer Craig McCaw.
Friday’s payout is in addition to $371 million in compensatory damages awarded last week to ICO Global Communications (nasdaq: ICOG - news - people ).
ICO (nasdaq: ICOC - news - people ) says the court will also add interest, which could raise the combined awards to more than $700 million.
Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) officials say they will appeal.
Virginia-based ICO Global had accused the aerospace giant of trying to hinder its proposed satellite network by fraudulently raising prices for the project.
The network would broadcast video and other services to mobile device users around the world.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
Whistleblower lawsuit (PDF)
Evidence exhibit (PDF)
P-I Special Report: Boeing struggles with Sarbanes-Oxley
