Boeing Sees Military R&D Endorsed by Pentagon

Although the Bush Administration is still only slowly unveiling its new military strategy, Boeing officials believe the early signs are that their leading-edge R&D matches well with Pentagon pronouncements.

"Our investments have been pretty well placed," says George Muellner, president of Boeing's Phantom Works.
The Pentagon only a few days ago revealed the findings of its "transition panel" that sketched how the military should reform. It emphasized, for instance, the need for precision weapons, survivability, stealth, and expressed support for the Joint Strike Fighter.

At a Boeing technology symposium Friday, Muellner detailed the areas that Boeing sees as increasingly important for future military operations. They include increasing emphasis on exploiting information technology, unmanned systems, and precision weapons. Stealth also remains a key area of interest.

In the weapons area specifically, Muellner said precision is not enough. Tailored effects, the ability to match a weapon's size and destructive power to the target, are also of interest. He notes that Boeing is pursuing the Air Force's competition for an approximately 250-pound, small-diameter bomb. "You have to have appropriately sized weapons," he said.

Another key question is how freely unmanned aircraft will be allowed to operate in the modern battlefield. That is especially interesting for Boeing, which is pursuing two attack unmanned combat air vehicles, the X-45A for the U.S. Air Force, and another, still undesignated, for the Navy. "How much autonomy is politically acceptable?" Muellner asked rhetorically.

But making the best use of information technology "is probably, right now, the most perplexing problem," Muellner said. The goal is to enable both connectivity between different platforms and interoperability between different militaries.

Boeing also is involved in one of the internationally most controversial Pentagon programs, the land-based national missile defense program. Jim Albough, president and CEO of Boeing Space and Communications, acknowledged the company has presented the Pentagon multiple options about how to proceed. While he didn't elaborate, at least one approach would accelerate fielding of a system. European allies have been highly critical of the national missile defense approach, but Albough says it won't lead to a backlash for Boeing, even though the company serves as the prime contractor.