U.S. to Renew Contest for Antimissile System

The Bush administration will renew a potential multibillion-dollar contest between BAE Systems and Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp. to try to protect U.S. commercial planes against shoulder-fired missiles, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The face-off will run through autumn using prototypes developed in an 18-month pilot program. The agency could decide to pick one of these companies or take a different route by setting up airport defense systems or recommending that neither program was needed.