Lt Governor Rutherford Announces Baltimore Company Wins Contract for In-Flight Entertainment Technology

ANNAPOLIS, MD (June 17, 2015) – At the Paris Air Show, Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford met with executives from Cobham, a Baltimore-based developer and manufacturer of radio frequency technology solutions, and announced that the company has contracted with Gogo, a leading global aero-communications service provider. Cobham will provide specialized technology that will help enhance Gogo’s 2Ku next generation in-flight entertainment technology, which includes internet, TV, and movie service and other features. Cobham, which has nearly 100 employees in Baltimore City, has already hired additional staff to service this fast-growing marketplace.

“We are excited to see Cobham continuing to grow in Maryland,” said Lt. Governor Rutherford. “The highly specialized technology that Cobham is developing with Gogo will take in-flight entertainment to a whole new level of speed and service.”

A unit of the U.K.-based Cobham Group, Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions services the defense, wireless/mobile and fixed broadband, X-ray imaging, medical, industrial, and point of sale markets. As part of this contract, Cobham will supply Gogo with roughly 150 radomes, or specialized structures that protect microwave antennas. Gogo’s 2Ku technology is expected to significantly increase the speed of internet service and was recently selected by Delta Air Lines to outfit their aircrafts serving domestic, Latin America and Caribbean routes.

“Since 1966, Cobham’s Baltimore location has provided radomes for challenging military applications. We are now leveraging that capability and applying it to the latest commercial aerospace communications applications,” said Jill Kale, president of Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions. “The radome developed in partnership with Gogo has recently successfully completed Federal Aviation Administration lightning, bird strike, and materials testing and this order is the latest milestone in our successful partnership.”

MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Glenn Hood
Director, Media Relations and Public Affairs
Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development
401 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202
O 410-767-6318 | C 443-463-8129 | karen.glennhood@Maryland.gov