Navy work coming to local Boeing site

Opportunities may open in sea-based missile program

Navy missile defense work coming to Huntsville may open up opportunities in sea-based missile defense programs, a Boeing vice president said Wednesday.

Boeing is transferring work on the kinetic warhead part of the Navy Aegis SM-3 interceptor from Anaheim, Calif., to Huntsville, and 30 jobs will be moved to Boeing's JetPlex site near the Huntsville International Airport, said Debra Rub-Zenko, vice president of Boeing Integrated Missile Defense.

Huntsville hasn't performed major work on sea-based missile defense programs, and Rub-Zenko said the move could "allow for a growth in Navy missile defense work."

Boeing performs similar work on the Patriot PAC-3 missile, and Rub-Zenko said the decades of missile defense experience with programs such as Avenger, the joint Israeli and U.S. Arrow program and work on the Ground-based Mid-course Missile Defense program in Huntsville drove the decision to move the work from southern California.

"Huntsville does such a great job with performance and quality, we knew that there would be additional benefits by co-locating these programs," Rub-Zenko said.

The Navy has eight Aegis destroyers that can shoot down missiles with the SM-3 missile. Another 16 ships have been upgraded with advanced radar. Much like Patriot missiles, the SM-3 interceptors use kinetic energy - a direct hit, not an explosive - to destroy incoming missiles.

Boeing decided to relocate the kinetic warhead production work to Huntsville after an evaluation of future requirements and a review of plans to consolidate Boeing's southern California facilities that will result in closure of the Anaheim site.

Boeing has worked with Raytheon on the Aegis SM-3 development since 1996 and is under subcontract to integrate and test kinetic warhead avionics, guidance, control hardware and software.