COLUMBUS, Ga., April 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) opened its new Soldier Works facility to improve collaboration with military and industry partners in developing new soldier systems and warfighter technologies.

Located near Fort Benning, Ga., Soldier Works can employ virtual simulation, human factors engineering and network-experimentation capabilities to design, demonstrate and test force modernization solutions.

"Soldier Works provides closer proximity to the soldier, our key military end-user, for demonstration and testing of emerging warfighter systems," said Glynn Raymer, vice president, Raytheon Network Centric Systems Combat Systems. "As we engineer soldier systems, netted ground-vehicle systems and immersive training solutions, we can now do so with greater efficiency and closer customer collaboration through this versatile facility."

"Raytheon views Soldier Works as an investment in innovation, customer relations and the local community," said Mark Scott, director, Soldier Works, which also serves as a Raytheon field office.

With a small full-time staff, the center expects to host annually more than 500 Raytheon employees, partners and customers. These visitors could represent an estimated local economic impact of up to $250,000.

Raytheon operates a similar integration center, Gruntworks, near Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.

Raytheon Company, with 2009 sales of $25 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 88 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 75,000 people worldwide.

Contact:  Dave Desilets, 214.235.3937

SOURCE Raytheon Company