Boeing Deal to Boost Anaheim Work Force

Boeing Co., the second-biggest U.S. defense contractor, said Monday it won a four-year, $82-million contract to develop mine-hunting underwater vehicles for the U.S. Navy.

The company will add 100 jobs to handle the work at its Anaheim plant, where it now employs 3,500, said Bill Van Vleet, director of Boeing’s communications and information management systems unit.

Boeing said it beat Northrop Grumman Corp. for the contract to develop the unmanned vehicles, scheduled to be deployed on Los Angeles- and Virginia-class attack submarines in 2004. The vehicles would be shot from torpedo tubes and would search for mines, reporting back via satellite every 12 hours.

Boeing, traditionally known as an aircraft builder, acquired expertise in underwater vehicles with its 1996 purchase of the space and defense business of Rockwell International Corp.

The Navy contract covers the purchase of six initial systems, which includes two unmanned vehicles, a recovery device and on-board handling equipment. The Navy is considering purchasing six more systems, a contract that would be valued at $110 million to $200 million, Van Vleet said.

The vehicles that Boeing is developing are intended to be more clandestine than current mine-detection systems, which use helicopters or ships that might be seen by potential adversaries. They would replace an interim undersea vehicle designed by Northrop Grumman that uses fiber-optic cables rather than satellites to transmit data.

Boeing shares fell 13 cents to $44.19 on the New York Stock Exchange. Northrop Grumman’s stock fell $1.13 a share to $53.56.