Recon Optical was a privately held defense contractor

Defense contractor

A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems...

 founded in 1922 by Eugene W. Fuller as Chicago Aerial Survey Company; it was later known as Chicago Aerial Industries. Located in Barrington, Illinois, Recon provided end-to-end intelligence

Military intelligence

Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....

, surveillance

Surveillance

Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

 and reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

 (ISR) systems, remotely operated weapon systems

Remote Weapon Station

A remote weapon station, also known as a remote weapon system, is a weaponized system for light and medium caliber weapons which can be installed on ground combat vehicle or sea and air-based combat platforms. Such equipment is used on modern military vehicles, as it allows a gunner to remain in...

, and optical components for military and government use. Recon Optical was purchased by Goodrich in 2008 and is now part of Goodrich ISR Systems.