Tucson: Brock Technologies Wins Ph II SBIR for UAV Development

Former Raytheon couple on their own with UAVs

By Ian Friedman

ARIZONA DAILY STAR 31/2010

Jessica and Keith Brock left their jobs at Raytheon Missile Systems two years ago to take a small-business approach to un­manned- vehicle engineering.

They felt they could develop products more efficiently than large companies could.

“We said, ‘Hey, let’s go off and be that young, sporty group,’ and we did that, and they (Raytheon) actually like it,” said Keith Brock, vice president of Brock Tech­nologies Inc. The strategy paid off for the Vail-based company.

In February 2009, Brock Tech­nologies was awarded a $100,000 Small Business Inno­vation Research (SBIR) contract from the U.S. Air Force to design a low-cost aerial vehicle that could carry between 18 and 24 pounds for at least 18 hours, Kei­th Brock said.

It received a $750,000 follow­up SBIR contract for Phase 2 of that project in January and plans to begin building the aircraft within the next month.

Incorporated in 2006 while both Keith and Jessica Brock were still employed as engineers at Raytheon, Brock Technologies is focused on developing un­manned aerial and ground vehi­cle for uses ranging from aerial reconnaissance to helping a per­son with multiple sclerosis to drive a car by using a joystick, Keith Brock said.

Will Brock, a test and integra­tion engineer and Keith’s broth­er, said the company has been successful because of its ability to “rapid prototype.”

He said this can be seen in such products as the Aviator series — similar to that of a “potato gun” — that can be plugged into a car’s cigarette lighter.

Philip Finnegan, director of corporate analysis at the Teal Group, an aerospace and defense market analysis firm based in Fairfax, Va., said smaller compa­nies such as Brock Technologies play a major role in the ever­growing UAV market.

“They bring a different skill set to the problems. They bring a dif­ferent cost structure; they tend to be very agile; they can move very quickly,” Finnegan said.

While Brock Technologies is entirely sperate from Raytheon, Keith Brock said there is definite­ly a bond between the two com­panies.

“If we are running into prob­lems in the field, we will talk to Raytheon so they don’t have to waste the time or money to find things out,” he said. “We have a lot of knowledge that left with us, and they have a lot of knowledge that we don’t have, so we tend to collaborate.”

This dynamic works only if the two companies’ products are not in direct competition with one another, he said.

Raytheon representatives de­clined to comment on the com­pany’s relationship with Brock Technologies.

Keith Brock said his company, whose current staff of seven in­cludes four former Raytheon employees, plans to stay small for the next 10 years but could begin to grow after that point.

“If you stay small, you can keep highly motivated people highly motivated. One of the dis­advantages of a big company is you kind of get lost.”

Contact NASA Space Grant intern Ian Friedman at 434-4083 or at friedman@azstarnet.com