Where Industry and Security Intersect
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(Washington)--The Department of Commerce today ordered Optical Imaging Systems (OIS) of Northville, Mich., to fulfill its contracts and provide the flat panel displays required. OIS is the only qualified U.S. manufacturer of the high-resolution flat panel screens used in such key U.S. military systems as the Apache attack helicopter, the F-16 and other advanced fighter aircraft, and the M-1 Abrams tank. Operations at the plant were terminated and 220 employees furloughed on Friday, September 18, 1998. Guardian Industries Corp. is the majority shareholder of OIS.
The Department issued the directive under the Defense Production Act and the Selective Service Act which authorize the President to take steps to assure the availability of goods considered vital to national defense. The order requires OIS to fulfill existing contracts to supply U.S. weapons programs.
The order gives OIS until September 30 to demonstrate that it will be able to perform its contractual obligations to supply these items. A group of defense contractors who use these display panels has agreed to fund the operating costs of the OIS plant while additional efforts are undertaken to restructure or transfer the business. Commerce's order is contingent upon the availability of that funding for OIS. Civil injunctions or criminal penalties may be imposed for failure to comply with the order.
OIS has received more than $50-million in Federal funding, through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the high-resolution displays which enable weapons operators to see targets and weapons information with extreme clarity -- a major battlefield advantage for U.S. weapons and forces.
In April of 2002 the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) changed its name to the Bureau of Industry and Security(BIS). For historical purposes we have not changed the references to BXA in the legacy documents found in the Archived Press and Public Information.