Business: Bomarc on the Line

For 20 years, the name Boeing has been synonymous with big bombers, from World War II's 6-17 to today's 650-m.p.h. B-52. Last week Boeing won a $7,109,195 Air Force production contract—and the promise of more—for a new aircraft calculated to give any bomber crewman the shakes. The craft: Boeing's deadly Bomarc guided missile, whose mission is to knock down atom-bomb-carrying planes like Boeing's own 6-52.

The first long-range missile interceptor in the U.S. arsenal, Boeing's Bomarc looks much like a jet fighter minus the pilot's cockpit. Its 47-ft. fuselage (longer than that of a...