The study, scheduled to be completed by June 2009, will help plan for a demonstration using a land-based Minotaur launch system and a payload delivery vehicle designed to carry and deliver various conventional payloads at global ranges in less than one hour of flight time. The contract is managed by the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

"With more than 50 years of experience supporting Air Force missile programs, our team looks forward to assisting the Air Force with this study. It will help refine requirements leading to a demonstration program and will provide system-level analysis of one of the key concepts considered viable for a prompt global strike weapon," said Peggy Morse, director of Boeing's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Systems.

The Air Force selected the Minotaur launch vehicle for a demonstration because of its near-term asset availability and low-cost profile.

Boeing has played a key role in missile development design, production and maintenance since the conceptualization of Minuteman I in 1958. In addition to the Guidance Replacement Program, Boeing performs guidance repair activities at its Guidance Repair Center in Heath, Ohio, and is an ICBM Prime team member.

Boeing's integrated product team spans several locations, including El Paso, Texas; Heath, Ohio; Mesa, Ariz.; Ogden, Utah; Anaheim, Calif., and Honeywell in Clearwater, Fla.