EL SEGUNDO, Calif., June 17, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has named Catherine H. Blades vice president for communications and public affairs at its Space and Airborne Systems business.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080617/NETU018 )

Blades came to Raytheon from Lockheed Martin where she was director of marketing and international communications for a $12 billion aeronautics business. Overseeing an extensive network of public relations firms, she led communications initiatives to identify and create opportunities to support capture, keep-sold and market-development activities in 40 countries.

She also created and placed domestic and international advertising, served as managing editor of customer publications, guided trade show activities, and directed marketing research and branding.

Before joining Lockheed Martin, she was director of public relations and senior communications counsel for Neill Corp., a leading distributor of Aveda beauty products, and manager of media and community relations for Stewart Enterprises, Inc., an international publicly-held company.

Earlier in her career she served by gubernatorial appointment as executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. In that role, she managed a staff of appointees and civil servants and a 17-member board representing a diverse cross-section of industry and community leaders. She also oversaw public and media relations, environmental and government affairs, and the internal and external communications functions.

In addition, she has worked in print and broadcast journalism. A native of New Orleans, she earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications at the University of Southwestern Louisiana and is a Loyola University Environmental Communications Fellow.

Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems is a leading provider of sensor systems giving military forces the most accurate and timely actionable information available for the network-centric battlefield. With 2007 revenues of $4.3 billion and 12,000 employees, SAS is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif. Additional facilities are in Goleta, Calif.; Forest, Miss.; Dallas, McKinney and Plano, Texas; and several international locations.

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 86 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. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

  Contact:
  Art Bentley
  310.647.3266
  Arthur_H_Bentley@raytheon.com

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080617/NETU018
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Art Bentley of Raytheon Company, +1-310-647-3266,
Arthur_H_Bentley@raytheon.com

Web site: http://www.raytheon.com/