Trace Systems to seek DOD, DHS wireless network sales

Otto Hoernig, who sold SpaceLink International to Engineered Support Systems in 2005  for $150.5 million, is positioning a new company, Trace Systems, to aggressively sell its integrated wireless sensor network systems to the Defense and Homeland Security departments and the intelligence community.

The company was formally incorporated earlier this year.

“With the recent advances in sensor technologies, the convergence of sensors with technologies such as [radio frequency identification] and [the Global Positioning System], as well as the tools to manage and fuse data from these sources with geospatial information, we saw an opportunity to respond to the growing demand for comprehensive situational awareness solutions,” said Hoernig, president and chief executive officer of Trace, in a statement released today.

“These solutions can be used to secure borders, airports, seaports, monuments or other government facilities, as well as to protect our warfighters, identify and track assets or people, or [they can] used in Automatic Identification Technology and other programs to identify friendly forces and assets in transit, on the ground, at sea, in the air or on the battlefield,” he said.

Trace’s systems meet government requirements for end-to-end mobile, fixed and tactical communications solutions. The McLean, Va.-based company is developing systems that can operate on their own or in closed-loop environments and in the Net-Centric Global Information Grid service-oriented architecture/Web services environment, the company said.

Trace has worked with DOD, DHS and intelligence clients in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, Hoernig said.

“We have a deep understanding of government communications requirements, we know the wireless technologies well, we’re vendor neutral and we’re stepping in to fill the significant need for qualified system integrators that can provide comprehensive full life cycle support,” he said.