TUCSON, Ariz., Dec. 22, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company and UEC Electronics have signed a Department of Defense-sponsored Mentor-Protege program agreement to work on several Raytheon programs.

Raytheon will mentor UEC Electronics for three years in product design, test set design and development, advanced electronics manufacturing and development, lean manufacturing, information technology, human resources and quality systems.

"This is an excellent opportunity for us to help UEC Electronics become a better supplier to Raytheon and the DoD," said Mike Jarrett, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Supply Chain Management. "This agreement will pay benefits to both companies and our customers."

Located in Hanahan, S.C., UEC Electronics is a small, woman-owned business. The company specializes in custom design, rapid prototyping and manufacturing solutions for system, sub-system and component-level requirements. Under the agreement, Raytheon and UEC Electronics will work on Standard Missile-6, AIM-9X and AIM-120 missiles.

"We are excited to work with Raytheon and learn from this global company," said Rebecca Ufkes, UEC Electronics president. "The expertise and technology transfer provided by Raytheon will allow UEC to grow our design, specialized manufacturing and integration capabilities."

The DoD-sponsored Mentor-Protege program pairs large companies with eligible small businesses to enhance the proteges' capabilities. The program enables small businesses to successfully compete for larger, more complex prime contract and subcontract awards. In 2007, Raytheon subcontracted more than $1.8 billion of work to small and diverse businesses.

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:
    John Patterson
    520.794.4559
    john_b_patterson@raytheon.com

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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

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