Representatives from Boeing, one of two major defense firms vying for the roughly $85-$140 billion, decades-long Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) project, were in Cheyenne today (Tuesday) to discuss the latest developments with the project.

The Trump administration, in August, placed orders with Boeing and Northrop Grumman to start working on technology for new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to replace the Cold War-era Minuteman III.

"Boeing designed and fielded Minuteman I, upgraded to Minuteman II and eventually Minuteman III, which was only supposed to last 10 years, and now almost 50 years later it's still in the field," said Andy Healy, Senior Manager in Business Development and Strategy for Missile and Weapons Systems.

"As we look to the future, we're going to need that kind of teamwork and that kind of resourcing in all the missile complexes to field GBSD," he added.

"It's also critical that we have the community involved and get the design right," said Patti Dare, Global Sales and Marketing Director for Boeing Strategic Deterrence Systems. "This system is supposed to last through 2075 and beyond."

Boeing, who won't know until 2020 if they get the GBSD project, says it's too soon to know how many jobs the project will bring to the area, but the impact will be "significant."

"The whole system is being modernized or replaced," said Dare. "So it will be a large amount of jobs."

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