Washington ? Boeing Co.’s Wichita plant is getting $55 million in new work on the Air Force’s airborne laser missile defense project, said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan.

Roberts said Wednesday the project would employ about 35 engineers to install laser components onto modified 747 aircraft designed to shoot down ballistic missiles.

“I am pleased that Boeing has recognized the skilled labor force in Wichita and has decided to bring this important work to their facility there,” Roberts said. “It is my hope that as the (project) moves from prototype to full production, this work will remain in Wichita.”

Monica Aloisio, a spokeswoman for Boeing in Arlington, Va., said the company had no plans to permanently move the program to Wichita.

The airborne laser system is designed to provide an early defense against ballistic missiles by destroying them in the boost phase, according to Boeing’s Web site. Air Force plans call for a fleet of seven aircraft with the lasers to be ready for rapid deployment within 24 hours to any spot around the world.

The 10-month project, set to begin this summer, previously was slated for completion at Edwards Air Force Base in California, said Roberts, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Boeing’s defense operations in Wichita employ about 3,200 people. Those operations were not affected by last month’s sale of the company’s commercial aircraft operations in Kansas and Oklahoma to Toronto-based Onex Corp.