Wayne Meyer, at 83; admiral who managed Aegis weapon system project
Admiral Meyer, who managed the development and construction of the Aegis system and had an Aegis-equipped destroyer named after him, died yesterday of heart failure in a hospital in Washington, D.C., his son, James, said.
Admiral Meyer had been director of engineering at the Naval Ship Missile Systems Engineering Station in Port Hueneme, Calif., before he was recalled to Washington and reported to the Naval Ordnance Systems Command as Aegis Weapon System manager in 1970.
Admiral Meyer was promoted to rear admiral in 1975, the same year he became the founding project manager of Aegis shipbuilding. The shipboard missile-guidance system uses sophisticated computers and a powerful phased-array radar to track more than 100 targets and launch missiles to destroy them. Named for the shield of the Greek god Zeus, Aegis has been described as the pre-eminent maritime combat system in the world.
The first Aegis-equipped cruiser, USS Ticonderoga, was commissioned in 1983. And in 1991, the first Aegis destroyer, USS Arleigh Burke, was commissioned. Today, the Navy has 54 Aegis destroyers and 22 Aegis cruisers in operation.
“Similar to (Admiral Hyman) Rickover and his long-term persistence in overcoming all the obstacles to make the nuclear Navy happen, Meyer basically overcame the same sort of obstacles, provided the guidance - the wisdom, if you will - and the determination to make it happen,’’ said Bob Harney, associate professor of systems engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
In 1983, Admiral Meyer was reassigned as deputy commander, Weapons and Combat Systems, Naval Sea Systems Command; he retired from active duty in 1985.
In honor of Admiral Meyer’s work on the Aegis weapon system, the Navy said in 2006 that it would name its newest Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer after him.
Admiral Meyer was born April 21, 1926, in Brunswick, Mo. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1946.
He received a master’s degree in astronautics and aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Admiral Meyer, who had enlisted in the US Naval Reserve in 1943 at age 17, was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve in 1946 and was transferred to the regular Navy two years later.
After retiring from active duty, Admiral Meyer ran his own management and consulting business for the Navy.
His first wife, Margaret, predeceased him. In addition to his wife, Anna Mae, and his son James, Admiral Meyer leaves another son, Robert; a daughter, Paula Meyer; two stepchildren, Anna and Eddie; and four grandchildren.