MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A U.S. Navy program that uses Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) technology to land aircraft in harsh weather has been recognized with a Department of Defense engineering award.

The Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) Increment 1A ship system received the Systems Engineering Top 5 Programs Award for "successful implementation of systems engineering best practices resulting in program success," according to the Department's announcement.

JPALS uses the Global Positioning System and two-way data links for precise area navigation and landing approaches for Navy carrier-based aircraft and helicopters.

The U.S. Navy-Raytheon team "utilized solid systems engineering practices to manage requirements, identify and mitigate risk, and manage the technical baseline, while keeping the program within cost and schedule targets," according to the evaluation team. An award ceremony was held Oct. 24, 2012, in San Diego, Calif., sponsored by the National Defense Industrial Association.

Raytheon is currently installing JPALS on the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush, CVN-77. Government integration of the system with other ship systems was completed in the Navy's test facility, and flight testing commenced in May 2012. Shipboard testing on the carrier is planned to start as early as December. Raytheon completed development activities on time -- including delivery of eight ship system engineering development models and five avionics test kits on or ahead of schedule.

About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2011 sales of $25 billion and 71,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 90 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. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @raytheon.

Media Contact
Peter Ramjug
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ncspr@raytheon.com

SOURCE Raytheon Company