Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] gave The Boeing Co. [BA] a $78.2 million contract for work on ICBM systems.

Boeing will deploy a replacement Environmental Control System (ECS) for more than 550 Air Force ICBM launch, missile alert and Class 1 trainer facilities.

The ECS regulates climate controls and ensures that electronics and ground support systems are maintained at specified pre-set temperatures in launch control centers and launch facilities.

The current Minuteman ECS, in use for more than 40 years, has been the focus of a redesign effort over the past decade.

Boeing will remove the current ECS before installing and testing the new one.

A separate contractor will manufacture the replacement systems. The contract calls for work to be completed by 2011.

“We’re very pleased to be selected for this important mission,” said Kelly Johnson, Boeing ICBM program manager. “The Environmental Control System plays a vital role in maintaining the readiness of our nation’s ICBM force.”

Boeing, a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman Mission Systems on the ICBM program, also is responsible for supporting the sustaining engineering and modernization efforts under way for the silo-based ICBM fleet and supports the Minuteman force development evaluation flight test program at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The Minuteman ICBM is a three-stage, solid-fueled strategic missile. First deployed in the 1960s, there are 500 Minuteman ICBMs currently deployed in the nation’s arsenal.