Boeing Wins Contract for Pilotless Vehicle

Boeing Co. said it won a Pentagon contract to design a fuel cell-based propulsion system for a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that eventually could stay in the air for weeks rather than days.

Boeing, which last month won a $460-million defense contract to speed development of another UAV, the Air Force’s planned X-45B unmanned bomber, said the new long-endurance UAV could play a vital role in future communications systems.

Boeing spokesman Chick Ramey said the contract awarded by the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency was valued at just over $300,000.