Boeing

The Boeing Company today was selected by the Joint Program Office of the Department of Defense's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization to act as lead system integrator for the National Missile Defense program.

Work on the three-year contract, worth approximately $1.6 billion from now until the year 2000, will begin immediately. It will be led by Dr. John Peller, vice president and program manager for the Boeing NMD team. He will be based in Washington, D.C.

Contract activity will be concentrated in Washington, D.C.; Anaheim, Calif.; Huntsville, Ala.; and Colorado Springs, Colo. Options could extend the contract seven additional years, for a total of 10 years.

"By awarding this critical defense contract to our company, the Department of Defense has shown great confidence in Boeing," says Jim Evatt, president, Boeing Information & Communications Systems, based in Kent, Wash. (The NMD program is in this business unit, which focuses on commercial and military information and communications needs of today and the future.)

"We are proud that they believe in our ability to help protect our homeland and preserve this country's future," Evatt said. "It is an honor and a commitment that we take very seriously."

"The Boeing NMD team is determined to prove that we can do this critical job effectively and efficiently," Peller said. "We have an unmatched history of first-time successes integrating large, complex military, commercial and space systems.

"For example, we are responsible for some of the largest systems integration programs in the world, including the Space Shuttle, AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) and the Boeing 777 commercial aircraft system. Our innovative design, rapid prototyping, end-to-end simulations and commercial processes developed for those programs will be applied to NMD.

"We are ready to work with the Department of Defense to help ensure America's safety," Peller said.

Under the contract, Boeing, as NMD lead system integrator, will develop and integrate all NMD elements, including:

The Ground-Based Interceptor to launch on demand to destroy attacking missiles in outer space;

The Ground-Based Radar to detect and track attacking missiles and provide information to assist the GBI;

And the Battle Management, Command, Control and Communications systemto collect and process information from satellites and radars to provide the vital information to the GBI both before and after launch.

The National Missile Defense system is necessary because of the real threat America's potential enemies pose, Peller said.

"Most Americans believe the United States is protected against an enemy attack by intercontinental ballistic missiles, but it isn't," he said. "While our troops overseas have some protection against such attacks, our homeland doesn't. Because of that, this is not just another program to us. We look at it as a mission."

The Department of Defense created the multi-service Ballistic Missile Defense Organization in Washington, D.C., to deal with this potential threat.

The NMD program, often referred to as the "3+3 program," is intended to defend America against limited attack by ICBMs that could be aimed at the United States in the future. Current plans include developing and demonstrating the system to a point at which a decision to deploy can be made in the year 2000. After that, the system can be implemented in three more years.

Boeing competed against the United Missile Defense Company - a joint venture made up of Lockheed-Martin, Raytheon and TRW - for this contract.

"Boeing has prepared for this by performing on various NMD contracts in the past 15 years," Peller said. "I have personally led many of them and look forward to partnering with the BMDO on developing the NMD system."

Peller said he believes the biggest technical challenge the team faces on this project is developing and demonstrating the exoatmospheric kill vehicle used by the NMD system to hone in on and destroy incoming enemy missiles. Boeing and Raytheon each have contracts to develop an EKV; selection of that contractor is planned for 1999.