The Region - News from May 31, 1987

The Pentagon selected a Southern California TRW Corp. facility to coordinate the engineering work and help manage a new type of experimental laser that might one day be used to shoot down nuclear missiles. In a brief contract announcement, the Pentagon office overseeing the “Star Wars” program said TRW’s Defense Systems Group in Redondo Beach had been selected from among four competitors to manage the so-called free-electron laser experiment program. Negotiations to finalize a contract will begin shortly, the Pentagon said, adding the contract’s value “is expected to be approximately $160 million over the next five years.”