TUCSON, Ariz., Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) began flight testing DARPA's Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) program.  PCAS Phase 3 is an 18-month, $25.5 million effort scheduled to culminate in live-fire demonstrations. The program is designed to speed close air support to soldiers on the battlefield.

"PCAS will help reduce close air support response times from as long as one hour to just six minutes," said Tom Bussing, Raytheon vice president of Advanced Missile Systems. "By delivering critical information to decision makers more quickly, PCAS will save lives in the battlespace."

PCAS will enable ground troops, Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) and combat aircrews to share real-time situational awareness and weapons systems data. With PCAS, soldiers on the battlefield can quickly and positively identify multiple targets simultaneously. JTACs and aircrews will jointly select the best precision-guided weapons for each target while minimizing collateral damage and friendly fire.

Current flight testing will highlight PCAS-air performance on an A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft and connectivity with the JTAC equipped with a PCAS-ground kit.  The key element of PCAS-air is modular smart launcher electronics, which can be easily ported from one platform to another. 

Once flight testing is complete, the PCAS system will be available for integration with other aircraft and participation in other demonstrations.  Digital interoperability between platforms and JTACs will allow for increased situational awareness, improved coordination, and decreased timelines for close air support.  

Raytheon is the systems integrator for PCAS and leads an industry team comprised of Rockwell Collins, General Electric, BAE Systems and 5-D Systems. Raytheon brings its expertise in overall systems integration, weapons, aircraft integration and unmanned aircraft system ground control stations to PCAS.

About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2012 sales of $24 billion and 68,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 91 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @raytheon.

Media Contact
John B. Patterson
+1.520.794.4559
rmspr@raytheon.com

SOURCE Raytheon Company