TEWKSBURY, Mass., Dec. 15, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's Integrated Defense Systems business has achieved a Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Maturity Level 5.

IDS President Dan Smith said: "This is a signature accomplishment achieved through interdependent execution across our Engineering, Operations, Integrated Supply Chain, Quality and Integrated Business teams. The breadth of people, processes and programs involved in this appraisal gives testament to our disciplined processes across our enterprise, solidifying commitments to our customers."

The Standard CMMI Appraisal Method of Process Improvement assessed IDS' Systems, Software and Hardware Engineering organizations. A team of appraisers spent four weeks at Raytheon IDS reviewing more than 14,000 documents and interviewing nearly 200 engineers, project leaders and program managers.

"This three-year event validates our commitment to continuous process improvements and is a great accomplishment," said Mike Del Checcolo, IDS vice president of Engineering. "With a global employee population, this rating demonstrates that no matter the location or program being worked, standard processes are in place that allow us to deliver 'no doubt' solutions to our warfighters."

The CMMI model measures business process maturity levels and provides Raytheon customers with a way to assess risks and determine the level of process maturity a company has achieved. It helps them predict performance, and CMMI maturity level ratings are often a prerequisite or discriminator for companies bidding on defense contracts.

Integrated Defense Systems is Raytheon's leader in Global Capabilities Integration providing affordable, integrated solutions to a broad international and domestic customer base, including the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the U.S. Armed Forces and the Department of Homeland Security.

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.

®CMMI is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.

    Contact:
    Michele Lemos
    978.858.5850

SOURCE: Integrated Defense Systems

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

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