A Possible $3-Billion Project : Ford Aerospace Loses Out on Tank Destroyer

Ford Aerospace and two other Southern California defense contractors have lost out on a multibillion-dollar competition to develop a new generation of portable anti-tank weaponry for the Army.

The Army on Thursday selected the contracting team of Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc. and a Florida division of Martin Marietta Corp. to build the weapon. The contract could prove to be worth about $3 billion.

Ford Aerospace’s Aeronutronic division in Newport Beach had been teamed with General Dynamics Corp.’s Valley System division in Rancho Cucamonga in the competition. Another losing bidder was the team of Hughes Aircraft Co.’s Missile Systems Group in Canoga Park and Honeywell Aerospace and Defense in Minneapolis.

“We were disappointed to lose it,” Susan Pearce, a Ford Aerospace spokeswoman, said. “It was something we were looking to to expand our business.”

Ford Aerospace has been developing the laser beam technology used in its version of the weapon for about a decade, Pearce said. About 20 people who worked exclusively on the program will be reassigned.

A Hughes spokesman called the decision “disappointing” but said the loss would have “no perceptable impact on near-term employment” in Canoga Park.

It is uncertain, however, whether the weapon--known officially as the Advanced Anti-tank Weapon System-Medium--will ever be built. Although the Army has given high priority to the program, some top Pentagon officials and members of Congress have questioned the effectiveness of the costly weapon.

The AAWS-M weapon is designed to replace the Army’s current Dragon anti-tank weapon, which has been criticized for being cumbersome to use, as well as ineffective against the Soviet Union’s newest tanks.

The Ford Aerospace/General Dynamics version would have guided the missile to the tank with a laser beam. The soldier who fired it would have had to hold his aim on the target until the missile arrived.

The Texas Instruments/Martin Marietta version will use infrared seekers to guide the missile. A key difference from the Ford proposal is that TI/MM system would allow the soldier to seek cover before the missile reached its target.