DULLES, Va., Oct. 25, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has invested in and developed a warfighter-conceived, leap-ahead intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) cloud capability that enables soldiers and intelligence operators to more easily collect and disseminate information. The new Green Thunder intelligence system closes the gap between the needs of users on the tactical edge and the cloud computing environment the U.S. Army is moving toward.

A modular, deployable ISR capability, Green Thunder is targeted at brigade combat teams and below, but it is scalable for higher echelons. Green Thunder provides a significantly better collection and dissemination capability in a smaller footprint than the Army's current capabilities. Affordable and compatible with the Army's current infrastructure, Green Thunder was created by Raytheon after interviews with warfighters and intelligence operators in Afghanistan.

"Threats from insurgents are changing faster than acquisition systems can adapt," said Galen Jackman, vice president for Army programs at Raytheon. "We have responded to Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Ashton Carter's call for capabilities that are deployment-ready and can have an immediate effect in the war we are fighting.

"With Green Thunder, no additional development cycle is necessary. We invested in a solution that fits and can be easily integrated into the current architecture. This mitigates risk to our customer. Green Thunder is ready to go to Afghanistan today."

Green Thunder provides ISR capabilities through the Distributed Common Ground system (DCGS) enterprise. It provides imagery and streaming video exploitation; human intelligence analysis; situational awareness; and reach-back from the brigade combat teams and below to feed intelligence to an entire DCGS Integration Backbone federation.

Using Raytheon Advanced Tactical System™ phones and Tactical Handoff Using

Nearest DCGS Resource™, Green Thunder closes the last tactical mile with forward-deployed edge users. Battlefield ready, it operates in low-bandwidth environments and delivers current information to operational units during missions.

"We invested and developed Green Thunder based on end-user feedback to ensure warfighters get what they need to win the counter-insurgency war in Afghanistan," said Mark Bigham, a vice president for Defense and Civil Mission Solutions in Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems.

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.

SOURCE Raytheon Company