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27 May 2004 |
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http://www.forbes.com/business/manufacturing/newswire/2004/05/27/rtr1387692.html |
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WASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. has been awarded a $500 million contract for more work on an airborne laser it is developing to shoot down enemy missiles shortly after they are launched, the Pentagon said on Thursday. From its inception in 1996 through 2003, the value of the airborne laser's prime contract has doubled to $2 billion from $1 billion, according to an audit released May 19 by the nonpartisan General Accounting Office, Congress's investigative arm. The high-energy chemical laser is a key part of a planned multilayered shield against ballistic missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads. It would be mounted in a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet that would patrol off enemy soil to zap missiles in their "boost" phase, buttressing ground-based missile interceptors due to go into operation by Sept. 30. The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said earlier this year it would delay indefinitely the purchase of a second aircraft to focus on optics and ground tests aimed at proving individual lasers could be combined to create a single laser beam. Separately, a multibillion-dollar Boeing drive to supply refueling planes to the U.S. Air Force is likely to fly in some form despite its bumpy past, experts on military purchases say. On Tuesday, the Pentagon put off until at least November a decision on whether to reopen negotiations on a $23.5 billion plan to lease 20 and buy up to another 80 modified tankers based on Boeing's 767 commercial airliner.
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