spacetoday.net: Boeing to combine space, military units

Posted: Thu, Jul 11, 2002, 9:07 AM ET (1307 GMT)
Boeing

The Boeing Company announced plans Wednesday to merge its space and military business units into a single entity. The new Integrated Defense Systems unit will combine the existing Space and Communications unit, headquartered in southern California, with the Military Aircraft and Missile Systems division, based in St. Louis. The new division will be headquartered in St. Louis but will be run by Jim Albaugh, head of the Space and Communications unit. The merger, which will not result in any job losses, is designed to permit Boeing to better offer integrated solutions involving land, sea, air, and space units for the military; it will also be responsible for commercial satellite and launch services. While Boeing said the move was not designed to hide financial problems with the company's space sector, Albaugh acknowledged that the satellite and launch businesses would likely lose money this year and the situation would not improve until the commercial space industry improved, which Albaugh believes will not be "for several years, if ever."