TEWKSBURY, Mass., April 29, 2009 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company has named a Turkish missile manufacturer as an international supplier of a key component of the Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T).

Under the agreement, Roket Sanayii ve Ticaret A.S (Roketsan) of Ankara, Turkey, will subcontract to Raytheon to integrate and test the control actuation system for the Patriot GEM-T missile for the United Arab Emirates. Working with subcontractors throughout Turkey and the United States, Roketsan will coordinate and perform the major assembly work at its Ankara facility.

Roketsan is Raytheon's first major trans-Atlantic supplier strategically located to support the 11 countries in Europe and Asia, including several in the Middle East, that have chosen Patriot as a key component of their air and missile defense programs.

"Roketsan joins Raytheon as a key strategic partner providing integrated air and missile defense to a growing number of international customers," said Sanjay Kapoor, vice president for Patriot Programs at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS). "To have a supplier with Roketsan's track record and technical expertise located in Turkey, the crossroads between Europe and Asia, will enable us to be even more responsive to our current and potential customers in the region.

"Furthermore, Turkey is a stalwart member of NATO and is a key strategic partner of the United States," Kapoor said.

In business since 1988, Roketsan is a proven leader in missile and rocket programs and a major part of Turkey's defense industry.

"We are delighted to be working with Raytheon on the Patriot program," said Huseyin Baysak, general manager at Roketsan. "We have the engineering expertise, experience, talented people, suppliers, and facilities to produce precise and reliable control actuation system assemblies for the GEM-T. Patriot is a combat-proven system ensuring the security of so many countries from air and missile threats. We're proud to be recognized for the capabilities we bring in what has been a very successful program for a long time and is only getting better."

Raytheon IDS is the prime contractor, both domestic and international, for the Patriot Air and Missile Defense weapon system and the system integrator of the PAC-3 missile into the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system.

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 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

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

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