The Boeing Company has completed a two-year modernization effort for the Advanced Electro-Optical System (AEOS), a powerful telescope used for research and space situational awareness by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The Air Force has declared initial operational capability (IOC) for AEOS, which signifies that the telescope is fully upgraded and ready to provide imagery and surveillance of objects in near-Earth and deep-space orbits.

AEOS, at 12 feet (3.67 meters) in diameter and 75 tons, is the largest telescope in the U.S. Department of Defense inventory. It is one of a half-dozen highly sophisticated telescopes at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex that are used to track and image space objects such as satellites and manufactured debris.

Under the AFRL's Innovative Research and Optical Support Services contract, Boeing is responsible for replacing aging sensors, control software and computer systems for the telescopes at the complex.Boeing and Air Force officials participated in a ceremony on Mount Haleakala on June 13 to celebrate the AEOS milestone as well as the IOC of a 1.6-meter-diameter telescope that Boeing also recently upgraded