EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 19, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a $27.6 million contract to develop a programmable computing system based on an extremely fast, powerful and versatile chip.

Raytheon's Morphable Networked Micro-Architecture (MONARCH) project calls for development by April 28, 2008, of a system that can alternate instantaneously between front-end (streaming) and back-end (threaded) processing through the use of industry-leading IBM Cu-08 90-nanometer technology.

Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems will work with the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California to create an integrated large-scale system on a chip with a suite of software development tools for programs of high value to the Department of Defense and commercial applications. Besides USC, major subcontractors include IBM, Georgia Tech and Mercury Computer Systems.

"In the past, a bank of processor boards accepted information and another bank processed it," Jack Kelble, president of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, said. "Now a tiny but highly sophisticated device a fraction of the size will perform both functions with unprecedented speed, power and capacity to store and process a vast amount of data."

Its ability to perform in a single-chip or a system-on-a-chip role will allow the MONARCH device to reduce significantly the number and types of processors required for computing systems. In the latter application, it will be able to process incoming and outgoing data while analyzing it.

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 special-mission aircraft. Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide.

  Contact:
   Art Bentley
   310-647-3266

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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