Recon Optical (Recon/Optical, Inc. or ROI) was a privately held defense contractor providing electro-optical and stabilization products.

History

Founded in 1922 by Eugene W. Fuller as Chicago Aerial Survey Company, it was later known as Chicago Aerial Industries or CAI, before changing to Recon/Optical. Originally based in Chicago, by 1960 it had moved to

Barrington, Illinois Barrington is a village in Cook County and Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,722 at the 2020 census. A northwest suburb of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks, and horse trails in a country-s ...

, when it was visited by presidential candidate

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

. For many years a subsidiary of

Bourns, Inc. Bourns, Inc. is an American electronics company that develops, manufactures and supplies electronic components for a variety of industries including automotive, industrial, instrumentation, medical electronics, consumer equipment and portable e ...

, Recon/Optical was purchased by Goodrich Corporation in 2008, becoming part of Goodrich ISR Systems. Recon Optical FPT was then purchased by Electro Optic Systems Holdings (EOS Defense) in 2009, and the Illinois office was closed in 2012.

Products/technology

With its focus initially on airborne cameras (first film, then digital), Recon/Optical provided end-to-end

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

and

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

(ISR) systems, Force Protection Technology (FPT), and optical components for military and government use. It produced optic systems in the

infra-red Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

, including

forward looking infrared Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation. The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...

(FLIR), and visible imaging (with haze reduction technology); in both frame and line scanning cameras. Recon/Optical also provided ground-stations to view and analyze the images being gathered by the aircraft. Using its gimbal technology for aiming and stabilizing cameras, Recon/Optical then moved into providing stabilization technology for remotely operated weapon systems.

References

Privately held companies based in Illinois Defense companies of the United States Technology companies established in 1922 Companies based in Lake County, Illinois 1922 establishments in Illinois {{US-manufacturing-company-stub