Defense Industry Contracts

The Air Force awarded a $1.1-billion contract Tuesday to a team made up of Boeing Co., TRW Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corp. to build a prototype laser-armed warplane designed to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles at long range. The award will create some jobs for the Southern California aerospace industry, but not as many as would have been expected had the contract been awarded to the losing bidder, Rockwell International Corp. of Seal Beach, which was teamed with Hughes Aircraft Co.

Commercial airplane king Boeing Co. is muscling its way into the top tier of defense contractors and moving closer to becoming the world's leading aerospace company--period. Boeing's role in defense was dramatically enhanced when the company was chosen last weekend as a finalist to build the next-generation U.S. fighter jet, a program that could involve manufacturing more than 3,000 airplanes.

Rockwell International Corp.'s space systems division has been awarded a $179-million Air Force contract to design, develop and demonstrate a satellite-based infrared missile tracking system. A Rockwell spokesman said no new hiring is anticipated under the demonstration contract, but added that the deal could lead to a multibillion-dollar contract for a major missile tracking and interception program that would create hundreds of jobs.

A federal grand jury in Texas is looking into whether Lockheed Martin Corp. made illegal payments to foreign consultants to win fighter aircraft orders. Lockheed Martin's Ft. Worth Co. unit, which makes the F-16, is gathering records related to the company's consultant agreements to turn over to a grand jury in Dallas, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

McDonnell Douglas Corp.'s aerospace group in Huntington Beach was one of four companies chosen Thursday by the Air Force to develop a new generation of low-cost rockets for launching military and commercial space satellites. The other participants are Boeing Co.'s Defense and Space Group in Seattle, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Astronautics division in Denver and Alliant Techsystems' rocket group in Magna, Utah.

Raytheon Co.'s Beech Aircraft unit won a fiercely contested, $7-billion contract to build the next generation of training aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, the Pentagon announced Thursday. Beech, in securing one of the last big military programs expected to be awarded in this decade, bested five rival entries that included planes developed by Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and Seal Beach-based Rockwell International Corp. "We are tremendously pleased," Arthur E.

Irvine Sensors Corp. was selected as a principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman Corp. on a 15-month, $1.6-million contract awarded by the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command, the companies said Thursday. Irvine Sensors will be responsible for preliminary circuit design, initial electronics integration and process documentation for the project, meant to manufacture new sensor designs for missiles, surveillance and night vision devices.