GOLETA, Calif., April 18, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received a $32.5 million contract award from the U.S. Air Force Electronic Warfare Product Group, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga., for the ALE-50 towed decoy system.

This award represents the ninth production lot of ALE-50 equipment being provided to the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy as part of an original contract that began in December 1996. The Lot 9 award calls for 1249 decoys for U.S. Air Force and 245 decoys for U.S. Navy aircraft. Equipment acquired by the Lot 9 award will be delivered through July 2007. Completion of the Lot 9 program will bring the total number of decoys produced by Raytheon to 22,495.

"The ALE-50 has been protecting the warfighter for nearly 10 years," said Pat Hurley, vice president and general manager of Raytheon Electronic Warfare Systems. "And thanks to our relentless commitment to program execution and operational performance, we foresee our towed decoys being deployed on military aircraft for years to come."

Towed decoy systems provide enhanced aircraft survivability by acting as a preferential target for many types of missile threats. Raytheon's ALE-50 system has played a key role in aircraft self-protection for several military conflicts and is currently operational on F-16, B-1B and F/A-18 aircraft. Work on the towed decoy system is being done at Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business by its Electronic Warfare Systems organization located in Goleta, Calif.

Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) is the leading provider of sensor systems giving war fighters the most accurate and timely information available for the network-centric battlefield. With 2004 revenues of $4.0 billion and 13,000 employees, SAS is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., with additional facilities in Goleta, Calif.; Forest, Miss.; Dallas, McKinney and Plano, Texas; and several international locations.

Raytheon Company, with 2004 sales of $20.2 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 80,000 people worldwide.

  Contact:
   Ron Colman
   805.879.2041

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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