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PATRIOT PAC-3 Successfully Engages Multiple Targets
TEWKSBURY, Mass., Nov. 18, 2004 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's Configuration 3 PATRIOT System successfully engaged two targets simultaneously today that were simulating incoming ballistic missiles during a test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. This test involved Raytheon Integrated Defense System's (IDS) radar and ground equipment and the currently under development post deployment software build six acquiring and tracking the incoming targets and then passing the data to Lockheed Martin's PAC-3 missiles. The mission was conducted in a battalion configuration with three Patriot fire units, which were operated by troops from Ft. Bliss, Texas, distributed in a tactical configuration. The missiles utilized for this mission were cost reduction initiative rounds with recently upgraded components. This test validated acquisition and tracking of nearly simultaneous targets followed by the successful intercepts. During the test there were six missiles in the air at one time (two targets and four interceptors), making this one of the more complicated tests ever conducted at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Based in Tewksbury, Mass., Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) is Raytheon's leader in mission systems integration. With a strong international and domestic customer base, including the U.S. armed forces and U.S. Missile Defense Agency, IDS provides integrated capability solutions to the air, surface, and subsurface battlespace. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2003 sales of $18.1 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 78,000 people worldwide. Contact: Guy Shields 978.858.5246 SOURCE: Raytheon Company Web site: http://www.raytheon.com/