SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY : Loral Missile Program Riding on Pentagon Budget, Due Out Soon

Loral Aeronutronic, the Newport Beach missile manufacturer, will be closely watching the new Pentagon budget proposal due out in the first week of February.

The trade weekly Defense News reported two weeks ago that the Navy has made an internal decision to cancel the AIM-9R Sidewinder air-to-air missile program, which has generated $50 million in contracts for Loral Aerospace Corp., a subsidiary of New York-based Loral Corp., since 1987.

The AIM-9R is about to enter limited production, and the program cost could eventually reach $300 million. The Navy had been planning to order about 5,000 of the missiles, which are an upgraded version of the AIM-9M missile with enhanced targeting and countermeasure features.

Instead, in the interest of cost cutting, the Navy may opt to participate with the Air Force in a joint missile upgrade program called the AIM-9X, Defense News reported. The AIM-9X version is expected to be more advanced than the AIM-9R, though it will be developed over a longer period of time.

The Navy isn’t talking about any cancellations. Navy spokesman Lt. Thomas Van Leunen said the AIM-9R has not been canceled, though he added that any budget changes are expected to be announced next month.

Joe Tedino, a Loral spokesman, said the company has not been notified of any cancellation of the AIM-9R.

In past interviews, Loral Corp. Chairman Bernard Schwartz has said the AIM-9R is a key program for the Aeronutronic division, which employs 2,500 people.

“We are waiting to see what happens with the budget in the first week of February,” Tedino said.

He said the company hopes to participate in the AIM-9X missile development as well. Meanwhile, Tedino said, the AIM-9R prototypes have performed successfully in five out of six flight tests so far.