Heavy lift

Thousands of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems employees nowadays feel just about as tall as the Delta IV rocket they built and recently launched successfully on Nov. 20.

Their work on the Delta IV, America's newest rocket and one of the U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles, encompassed everything from the first set of viewgraphs to design, development, test and the picture-perfect launch.

Boeing workers and supplier teammates also created a new rocket engine; a state-of- the-art, moving production line; a robot-enabled factory; a transport ship that can ply both inland waterways and the ocean blue, and a new launch complex.

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Heroes of the flight line

As the roar of jet engines fills the air, spectators tip back their heads and turn their eyes toward the sky. It doesn't matter if it's in Malaysia, France or the United States, the members of the F/A-18 Super Hornet demonstration team always see the same looks of awe and delight on faces in every country they visit.

Now, this dedicated team is focused on the Australian International Air Show, set for February 2003. The team's plan is to make the Super Hornet's aerial demonstration there its most exciting ever.

Most of the work that goes into a successful air show takes place behind the scenes and begins four or five months before a show begins. The planning team includes business development, aircraft maintenance, contracts, flight test, flight safety and customer relations representatives from across Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

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Rollin' on the river

Nestled on the west bank of the Missouri River, in St. Charles, Mo., northwest of St. Louis, is a unique Boeing facility that is the home of Weapons Programs.

It's been known as a center of excellence and a program management center. Now, Boeing has identified it as one of several Enterprise Capabilities Centers (ECCs) under the new Integrated Defense Systems business unit. Each ECC possesses a strategic capability that several business units share to achieve program goals.

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Non-stop operation

When student pilots take off in a Boeing T-45 Goshawk, they know they are flying a solid airplane with an excellent performance and safety record. What they might not know is the time and effort Boeing Integrated Defense Systems has put into ensuring the T-45 will continue to serve as the premier tactical jet aircraft trainer long into the future.

A Boeing IDS team of engineers, maintainers and test pilots is constantly working on the T-45, investigating and addressing concerns the people who fly the plane voice, and developing upgrades to improve the aircraft's performance. Since the U.S. Navy first took delivery of the light jet in the early 1990s, Boeing has conducted about 100 test programs to investigate these concerns and provide operational improvements to make the jet better.

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