EADS Telecom forms fed division

EADS Telecom North America, a provider of turnkey telecommunications networks, this week announced the formation of a new federal systems division focused on serving the government and military markets.

James Brooke, former director of operations and business development for BAE Systems Mission Solutions' operations in Colorado Springs, Colo., was named president of the new division.

"The challenge with EADS is not unlike BAE since both have global headquarters in Europe, but you're seeing more of it with those [firms] going after U.S. business, especially in the [Defense Department]," Brooke said during an Aug. 27 interview at the Air Force Information Technology Conference (AFITC) in Montgomery, Ala.

Brooke said EADS Telecom North America already has a number of federal customers, including numerous Air Force agencies and the Army's Simulation Training and Instrumentation Command. He said his goal is to bring the company's technology to even more federal and DOD customers.

The company's offerings include secure networking, secure voice technology, rugged radios and network architecture.

A retired Navy pilot, Brooke had been with BAE Systems since 1998 until assuming his new position with EADS last month. He was responsible for initiating a new business development strategy for the company's field site in Colorado Springs, which will be home to DOD's Northern Command beginning Oct. 1.

Brooke said EADS new federal division will focus on the defense and homeland security communities and will have three primary locations to support those efforts: Washington, D.C., Colorado Springs and San Antonio, where the Air Force's information assurance command is located.

"We're trying to develop a coherent capabilities statement and go to [major integrators] like Lockheed Martin [Corp.] and Northrop Grumman [Corp.] and be brought onto a team," he said. "That's how we plan to start out."

The new division is already responding to some requests for information, Brooke said, "and by the end of this calendar year, we'd like to become established on a couple of teams."