Boeing has created its own in-house avionics shop, called Boeing Avionics, to develop and produce its own avionics, the Seattle Times reported on Monday. In a memo to employees, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the move is a “strategy to build targeted vertical capability.” Boeing had created its own in-house avionics until 2003, when it launched the 787 program. Creating the new unit is “tantamount to an admission that Boeing made a mistake,” according to the Times. Boeing currently outsources its avionics to Rockwell Collins, Honeywell and United Technologies.
Boeing said it has 120 employees in the enterprise avionics organization, with plans to go up to around 600 by 2019. The unit will focus on avionics for the Boeing fleet, but could sell to other aircraft manufacturers eventually, according to Reuters.
