FALLS CHURCH, Va., April 26  /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN)
has been awarded a $36.8 million contract modification by the Naval Air
Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.

    Raytheon will provide modifications to its Tactical Control System (TCS)
software and product support for the Navy Fire Scout helicopter, an unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV), to achieve the following:

      -- simultaneous control of multiple UAVs;
  -- compliance with NATO's Standardization Agreement 4586
  -- integration of plug and play payloads;
  -- the weaponization of the Fire Scout and Fire Scout operational
     evaluations.

  Work will be performed in Falls Church, Va., and State College, Pa.

    "The enhancements to be made as part of this effort will increase TCS'
interoperability and simplify the process for adding new unmanned systems and
payloads," said John Nannen, vice president of Remote Systems for Raytheon.
"We are proud to be a teammate of the Navy's and continue work on this
important project."

    TCS successfully completed its first flight of the Fire Scout in August
2003. Since this event, TCS has flown the Fire Scout from a ground control
station on the USS Denver and a control system aboard the P-3C AIP aircraft.
The full Level 5 command and control of the Fire Scout from the P-3C in
December 2003 was a first in the UAV industry.

    As a risk reduction for future integration on the Littoral Combat Ship,
plans are in place for the TCS to demonstrate its control of the Fire Scout
from the High Speed Vehicle (HSV) in the fall of this year. HSV is an
automated vehicle that operates at speeds up to 55 mph in a variety of
environments.

    Raytheon Company, 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.

    Editor's Notes: NATO's Standardization Agreement 4586 sets out the
specifications of a common ground station for UAV's used by NATO forces.
Implementation will enable information between different national UAV's to be
shared via common ground stations to provide the opportunity of greater
control to NATO and national commanders over the use of UAV's in military
operations. You can find additional information at http://uav.navair.navy.mil/nato/article.htm.


  Contact:
   Darci Bushey
   Raytheon Company
   303.344.6608


SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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