Billingsley Aerospace & Defense

What Billingsley Aerospace & Defense does

Billingsley Aerospace & Defense, Inc. (BA&D) is a small, woman-owned manufacturer of precision magnetic-field instrumentation, with predecessor operations dating to a 1976-founded entity (Billingsley Magnetics) and a restructured corporate identity under President Eva M. Wakefield and Director of R&D S.W. "Bill" Billingsley. The company designs and builds ultra high-reliability fluxgate magnetometers, gradiometers, and closed-loop triaxial Helmholtz coil calibration systems. Core products span the TFM family (TFM65-VQS, TFM100G2, TFM100S space-grade radiation-hardened variant, TFM100G4-UWH underwater), the DFM24G 24-bit digital magnetometer, the HFM500/HFM500-MIL high-field (±15 Gauss) units, the HELM-3 one-meter and HELM-3-2 2.2-meter triaxial coil systems, and the APEX-CS closed-loop servo controller with 20-bit resolution and touchscreen interface. Underlying technology centers on proprietary fluxgate sensing with claimed best-in-class sensitivity, stability, and low noise performance; field uniformity of <0.025% gradient in the HELM-3-2; and orthogonality better than ±0.1 degrees. The proprietary BMATS (Billingsley Aerospace Automated Test System), a LabVIEW-based platform, automates sensor characterization (orthogonality, frequency response, linearity, noise) and thermal cycling for up to 12 instruments simultaneously across -15°C to +85°C.

Revenue is generated through direct B2B sales of magnetometer hardware and calibration systems, custom design services, on-site setup and calibration, magnetic site surveys, and rental of the Brookeville, Maryland testing facility (six-hour minimum, with technician assistance). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Customer segments center on spacecraft/satellite programs (where BA&D instruments fly on missions including CRYOSAT, TERRASAR-X, GOCE, TANDEM-X, SEOSAR, SWARM, and Cygnus CRS), the U.S. military (the company reports hundreds of instruments supplied to U.S. Navy underwater ranges with zero field failures; additional programs with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army), national standards laboratories (NIST, NPL), defense primes (Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, L3 Harris, Sierra Nevada, Cobham, Leonardo DRS, Electric Boat/General Dynamics), academic and research institutions (NASA/JPL, Johns Hopkins APL, University of Toronto), and is engaged in development work with DARPA. Geographic reach is global across North America, Europe, the U.K., Canada, Australia, and Japan, with research collaborations at IBM Watson Research Center and Czech Technical University in Prague.

Name

Billingsley Aerospace & Defense

Legal name

Billingsley Aerospace & Defense Inc.

Website

https://magnetometer.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Billingsley Aerospace & Defense designs and manufactures ultra high-reliability fluxgate magnetometers, gradiometers, and closed-loop triaxial Helmholtz coil calibration systems, serving spacecraft programs, the U.S. military, and national standards laboratories with direct, custom-engineered instrumentation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Magnetic Field Instrumentation

NAICS

Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

Magnetic Sensors (Hall/Magnetoresistive/Compass) (HDAHALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Test & Measurement Equipment (Oscilloscopes, DAQ, signal analyzers, calibration benches) (IMAGAFAC), Calibration Services & Standards (Calibration labs, reference standards, traceability services) (IMAGAFAH), Avionics Test, Simulation & Calibration Equipment (IMABAFAN), Metrology, Calibration & Testing Equipment (Balances, pH/DO, Standards) (HLAGAIAL)

Keywords

• Fluxgate magnetometers
• Helmholtz coil systems
• Magnetic field calibration
• Spacecraft attitude control
• Radiation-hardened sensors

Headquarters

HQ city

Germantown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Magnetometer Hardware Sales: Sale of fluxgate magnetometers including TFM series (TFM65-VQS, TFM100S, TFM100G2, TFM100G4-UWH), DFM series (DFM24G), and HFM series (HFM500, HFM500-MIL). Products range from ultra-miniature flight magnetometers to high-field and underwater configurations.
2. Helmholtz Coil System Sales: Sale of HELM-3 (1-meter) and HELM-3-2 (2.2-meter) triaxial Helmholtz coil systems with APEX-CS closed-loop servo controllers. Custom system design available to match customer testing requirements.
3. Calibration and Testing Services: On-site setup and calibration of Helmholtz Coil Systems, magnetic site surveys, instrument recalibration services, and environmental testing. Includes testing facility rental with six-hour minimum.
4. Custom System Design: Custom magnetometer and calibration system design tailored to specific program requirements. Consultation services for magnetic field instrumentation to customer specifications.
5. Testing Facility Rental: Rental of testing facilities including 2.2-meter triaxial closed-loop servo-controlled Helmholtz Coil Systems. Includes technician assistance for setup and use. Six-hour minimum rental.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Billingsley Aerospace & Defense designs and manufactures ultra high-reliability fluxgate magnetometers, gradiometers, and triaxial closed-loop Helmholtz coil calibration systems for spacecraft attitude control, military/defense, geophysical exploration, and scientific research. Its product portfolio includes miniature flight magnetometers (TFM series), digital magnetometers (DFM series), high-field magnetometers (HFM series), underwater variants, Helmholtz coil systems (HELM-3 and HELM-3-2), and the APEX-CS precision closed-loop calibration controller. The company also provides custom instrument design, onsite calibration, testing facility rental, and magnetic site surveys.

Product overview

Billingsley Aerospace & Defense is a woman-owned small business and world leader in fluxgate magnetometer technology, offering a portfolio of precision magnetic field instruments and calibration systems. The core product line includes ultra-miniature flight magnetometers (TFM65-VQS, TFM100G2, TFM100S), underwater variants (TFM100G4-UWH), digital magnetometers (DFM24G), high-field magnetometers (HFM500, HFM500-MIL), and gradiometers. Supporting the magnetometer line are Helmholtz coil calibration systems (HELM-3 one-meter, HELM-3-2 two-meter) controlled by the APEX-CS precision closed-loop magnetic field calibration system with touch screen technology. The company also provides custom instrument design services, onsite calibration, testing facility rental, and magnetic site surveys. Their BMATS (Billingsley Aerospace Automated Test System) software, developed using Labview, enables automated sensor testing including thermal cycling, noise testing, frequency response, and orthogonality measurements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TFM65-VQS Ultra Miniature Flight Magnetometer Ultra miniature triaxial fluxgate flight magnetometer designed for spacecraft attitude control systems.
• TFM100G2 Ultra-Miniature Triaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer Ultra-miniature triaxial fluxgate magnetometer for spacecraft attitude control, general laboratory or field magnetic measurements, with an underwater enclosure option.
• TFM100S Space-Grade Radiation-Hardened Magnetometer Space-grade version of the TFM100 magnetometer, radiation-hardened to >300 kRAD (SI) for spacecraft attitude control, with galvanically isolated high-efficiency power converter and tighter specifications.
• TFM100G4-UWH Underwater Triaxial Fluxgate Magnetometer Underwater triaxial fluxgate magnetometer designed for underwater applications and marine magnetic field measurement.
• DFM24G 24-bit Digital Fluxgate Magnetometer 24-bit digital fluxgate magnetometer with all digital and analog functions on a single miniature PCB, featuring a remote triaxial sensor head or integral underwater housing for high-reliability long-term unattended use.
• HFM500 High-Field Triaxial Magnetometer High-field triaxial magnetometer for measurement of large magnetic fields up to ±15 Gauss, featuring low noise and excellent linearity.
• HFM500-MIL Titanium Underwater High-Field Magnetometer Titanium-housed miniature triaxial magnetometer for high-pressure underwater environments, configurable to measure fields up to ±15 Gauss.
• Fluxgate Gradiometers Ultra high-reliability fluxgate gradiometers for measuring magnetic field gradients in spacecraft attitude control, military, and geophysical applications.
• HELM-3 One-Meter Triaxial Helmholtz Coil System One-meter triaxial Helmholtz coil system for magnetometer calibration and testing as well as general laboratory or field magnetic measurement work, with ±0.1° orthogonality and ±0.015% calibration accuracy.
• HELM-3-2 2.2-Meter Triaxial Helmholtz Coil System 2.2-meter triaxial Helmholtz coil system suitable for magnetometer calibration and testing as well as general laboratory or field magnetic measurement work, with ±0.1° orthogonality and ±0.01% calibration accuracy, and field uniformity <0.025% gradient in a 20cm sphere.
• APEX-CS Precision Magnetic Field Calibration System Controller Precision closed-loop magnetic field calibration system controller with 20-bit resolution, touch screen technology, auto calibration, magnetic noise reduction, one-touch field zeroing, and degauss capabilities, used to drive HELM-3 and HELM-3-2 systems.
• Custom Instrument or System Design Services Custom magnetometer and calibration system design services allowing instruments to be tailored to specific program requirements or designed to customer specifications, including consultation on magnetic field instrumentation.
• Onsite Setup & Calibration Services On-site setup and calibration services for Helmholtz coil systems at customer locations, including assembly assistance and calibration support.
• Testing Facility Rental Rental of the state-of-the-art testing facility in Brookeville, Maryland, featuring triaxial closed-loop servo-controlled Helmholtz coil systems, with a six-hour minimum and technician assistance included.
• Magnetic Site Surveys Magnetic site surveys conducted at customer locations to assess magnetic field environments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero field failures on U.S. Navy underwater range instruments (hundreds supplied)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IBM Watson Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partnership with IBM's Watson Research Center to develop fundamental improvements in the fluxgate mechanism.
• Czech Technical University in PraguecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partnership to develop fundamental improvements in the fluxgate mechanism.
• DARPAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrently involved in development of new instruments for DARPA. Company has participated in SBIR programs in the past.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Metrolab Technology SA: Swiss manufacturer of precision magnetic field sensors, gaussmeters, and NMR probes used in accelerator, MRI, and laboratory settings. Comparable to BA&D in precision magnetic measurement for research and industrial customers.
• Bartington Instruments: UK-based manufacturer of fluxgate magnetometers and gradiometers for space, defense, and laboratory use. Closest direct competitor to BA&D in triaxial fluxgate magnetometers and magnetic field calibration systems.
• Applied Physics Systems: US supplier of high-reliability magnetometers, Helmholtz coil systems, and magnetic test equipment for space and defense — overlapping closely with BA&D's fluxgate sensors and calibration systems product lines.
• GEM Systems: Canadian manufacturer of high-sensitivity magnetometers (Overhauser, proton, alkali-vapor) for geophysical, archaeological, and space applications, overlapping with BA&D in gradiometry and magnetic survey instrumentation.
• Lake Shore Cryotronics: US-based supplier of precision magnetic measurement instruments (gaussmeters, Hall probes, cryogenic systems). Comparable to BA&D's magnetometers and calibration instrumentation in the research and standards-laboratory customer base.
• LEMI (Lviv Centre of Institute for Space Research): Ukrainian designer of fluxgate magnetometers for satellite missions such as SWARM and other ESA/NASA programs, directly competing with BA&D's TFM and HFM product lines in the spacecraft attitude-control segment.
• Foerster Group: German manufacturer of eddy-current, magnetic-particle, and flux leakage test equipment for industrial NDT — comparable to BA&D in magnetic field measurement and calibration, though more industrial/automotive in focus.

Broad incumbents

• Honeywell Aerospace: Large aerospace prime supplying a broad magnetometer and sensor portfolio across military, space, and commercial aviation. Comparable to BA&D as a magnetometer source for spacecraft and defense, but operates at vastly greater scale and portfolio breadth.
• Keysight Technologies: Global leader in electronic test & measurement instrumentation with broad overlapping capabilities in calibration, signal analysis, and bench instrumentation. Comparable to BA&D only loosely as a test/measurement ecosystem player rather than a direct magnetometer competitor.

Emerging players

• Twinleaf LLC: US startup building quantum (NV-center) and optical atomic magnetometers as alternatives to fluxgate technology. Comparable threat/adjacent player to BA&D in the magnetic sensing market, particularly for space and defense customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/badaerospace
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/billingsley-aerospace-&-defense-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Billingsley Aerospace & Defense