Recon Optical

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, when it was visited by presidential candidate John F. Kennedy.

For many years a subsidiary of Bourns, Inc., 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,[1] and the Illinois office was closed in 2012.

With its focus initially on airborne cameras (first film, then digital), Recon/Optical provided end-to-end intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, Force Protection Technology (FPT), and optical components for military and government use. It produced optic systems in the infra-red, including forward looking infrared (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.[2]