Boeing acquires UAV developer

Date: 05 May 2004

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Boeing has acquired Frontier Systems Inc., developer of the A-160 Hummingbird and Maverick unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Frontier’s platforms and technologies add to Boeing’s portfolio and capabilities in unmanned systems that include the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System X-45, ScanEagle and other concepts under development. Terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

The privately held Frontier Systems has about 70 employees and was formed in 1991. Frontier is based in Irvine, California and also has operations in Victorville, California for flight test operations.

The A-160 Hummingbird, a vertical take-off-and-landing UAV, has been designed to fly up to 2,500 plus nautical miles with 30 to 40 hour endurance. Its modular payload design can carry up to 1,000 pounds. The system will, hopes the manufacturer, provide reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, communication relay, precision re-supply, sensor delivery and eventually precision attack capabilities.

Frontier also sells the Maverick UAV, a retrofitted commercially available helicopter, to the U.S. Special Operations Command. The Maverick UAV has also been used as a test bed for A-160 technologies.

Boeing Phantom Works will complete development of the Hummingbird and then transfer the programme to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS). Phantom Works recently transferred the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System X-45 programme to IDS.