WASHINGTON — President Obama’s decision to scrap a proposed ground-based missile-defense system in Europe, announced Thursday, was bad news for Boeing and other contractors associated with the plan, but could be a boon for Raytheon and other companies that produce ship-based systems, analysts said.
Boeing had been slated to manage the construction and installation of 10 ground-based interceptors in Poland that were part of the Bush administration’s original plans.
“The losers are clear,” said Phil Finnegan, of the defense and aerospace research firm Teal Group. “Boeing was going to develop that site, and obviously that’s not going to happen.”
The announcement also came as bad news, he said, for Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences, which was going to supply 10 interceptors for the missile shield.
During the Bush administration, the U.S. military designed its defense plans with the expectation that Iran would soon develop long-range missile capabilities, defense industry consultant Loren Thompson said. That didn’t happen.
“This is a classic example of what happens when a threat does not materialize as expected and the government decides to go with a lower-cost solution,” he said.
For Boeing, he said, the announcement is just the latest setback the company has faced under the Obama administration, following the cancellation of several programs, including a search-and-rescue helicopter and its airborne laser.
In a statement, Boeing said that it will continue to develop its ground-based interceptor technology.
“We will continue to support the requirements that our customer, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, and U.S. policymakers, determine for missile defense for the homeland and abroad,” the company said.
Raytheon and Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin stand to benefit from what will likely be an increase in contracts from the U.S. government, analysts said. Raytheon makes the ship-based missiles, and Lockheed Martin makes the electronics system that controls them.
