Re: Pentagon may transfer FIA from Boeing to Lockmart

A slightly different take on the story. Interesting if Negroponte is
the driving figure. Also interesting is the assertion that Boeing will
retain the radar part of FIA -- see recent indications that Space
Radar, when and if it gets built, is to be the US' sole
military/intelligence radar imager.

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Aviation Week & Space Technology
Negroponte Strips Intel Satellite Work From Boeing
09/16/2005 02:05:18 PM
By Amy Butler

Boeing is expected to lose its multi-billion-dollar contract to develop
secret imaging satellites owing to ballooning costs and schedule slips,
and U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte will likely
hand the work to rival Lockheed Martin.

The government's decision to switch contractors could be finalized as
soon as Friday, Sept. 16, sources close to the program told Aviation
Week & Space Technology.

The satellites will provide high-resolution electro-optical pictures to
the U.S. intelligence community as part of the Future Imagery
Architecture (FIA) being managed by the National Reconnaissance Office
(NRO). Another portion of FIA, for which Boeing remains the contractor,
will consist of radar imaging satellites.

FIA was among the first efforts up for changes during Negroponte's
first program review, which began earlier this month, and his decision
may reflect a new hard line for underperforming contractors.

The transfer is a major loss for Boeing's space business, which is
suffering after the downturn in the commercial communications satellite
market and the subsequent crash in demand for space launches.

The cost for FIA, a classified program, has soared from $6 billion to
more than $15 billion. Roger Roberts, Boeing's senior FIA official,
left the company last month under the cloud of FIA's problems. Boeing
officials say he simply retired. Howard Chambers was named Roberts's
interim successor this week.

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