Nov 14 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) said on Thursday it hired

former Northrop Grumman executive Colin Miller to head

its Phantom Works research arm within the company's defense

business unit.

Miller's hiring as general manager of Phantom Works at

Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS) had been in the works

before the arrival of new Boeing ( BA ) CEO Kelly Ortberg.

Boeing's ( BA ) defense business has been struggling under the

weight of budget-busting older contracts, but Ortberg said in

October that the unit which makes helicopters, fighter jets and

missiles remains "core" to the company's future.

Miller's hiring was first reported by the Wall Street

Journal.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal)