System reaches significant milestone in modernizing United Arab Emirates airspace

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2009 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company and the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation have signed a factory acceptance test certificate, an important step in delivering the AutoTrac III air traffic management system to Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International Airport.

The airport is an 87 square mile urban aviation community being built in southwest Dubai and will be one of the world's largest airports.

"We were extremely impressed with Raytheon's professionalism and its methodical approach to testing," said Alan Cousins, operational engineering manager for DWC - Al Maktoum International Airport. "Raytheon has demonstrated that its state-of-the-art air traffic management system has the capability required to make our airport one of the most advanced terminal approach control units in the world."

Raytheon's AutoTrac III features a new generation of flight and surveillance data processing systems to ensure the safety of air traffic. The system's modern, open architecture design and high performance is fully adaptable and scaleable to fit any air traffic management environment from simple tower automation to a fully integrated multi-center system.

"Raytheon's reputation for delivering highly reliable air traffic management systems throughout the world is unsurpassed," said Khalifa Al Zaffin, Dubai World Central executive chairman. "We are confident that Raytheon will deliver this world-class system to our new airport."

When completed, the DWC - Al Maktoum International Airport will handle more than 150 million passengers annually using six parallel runways and will be one of the world's busiest airports. AutoTrac III provides the software and hardware to ensure the safety of air traffic for Dubai Approach Control and can be easily expanded to accommodate anticipated air traffic growth in the region.

"This new AutoTrac III system continues our leadership in transforming and modernizing the United Arab Emirates' airspace," said Andrew B. Zogg, Raytheon Network Centric Systems vice president of Airspace Management and Homeland Security. "We have completed a systems integration program for the Abu Dhabi International Airport and are in the process of delivering AutoTrac III to the General Civil Aviation Authority at the new Sheikh Zayed Center."

Raytheon Company, with 2008 sales of $23.2 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 87 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 73,000 people worldwide.

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SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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