EL SEGUNDO, Calif., June 28, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) latest netcentric enabled radar system, APG-79 AESA, has been awarded a significant multi-year procurement contract worth $580 million by The Boeing Company.

This five year production contract for the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) APG-79 system successfully concludes negotiations for 190 radars from low rate initial production lot 3 and 4 (LRIP3/4) through full rate production lot 1-3 (FRP1-3).

The first low rate initial production APG-79 AESA radar designed for the F/A-18E/F was delivered to Boeing IDS (Integrated Defense Systems) in January 2005. Following successful installation and testing Boeing will deliver the first AESA-equipped F/A-18F to the U.S. Navy in April.

"The APG-79 program is on a roll this year," said Erv Grau, vice president for Air Combat Avionics, the business area in Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, under which the radar program operates. "Securing this key contract with our customer, Boeing, so soon after our early delivery of the first radar, highlights the company's confidence in our AESA program. APG-79 truly demonstrates the quantum leap in sensor technology, which will provide aircrews unequalled combat capability and play a critical role in supporting the Navy's vision in how it intends to operate in the future."

The APG-79 AESA radar offers radically enhanced performance including increased air-to-air tracking at very long detection ranges, higher resolution SAR (synthetic aperture radar) maps at longer ranges, almost simultaneous air- to-air and air-to-surface mode capability, while delivering greater situational awareness than pilots had before.

"The APG-79 AESA radar, combined with the other advanced systems aboard the Super Hornet, will provide capabilities that give our aircrews an invaluable edge over present and future enemies," said Capt. Donald "BD" Gaddis, F/A-18 program manager for the Navy. "The AESA-equipped Super Hornet will transform the way the Navy projects power. It possesses the necessary tools that allow the Navy to operate, fight and win on a joint, networked battlefield."

"The AESA radar is a critical element of the Block II Super Hornet," said Chris Chadwick, Boeing vice president for F/A-18 programs, "and is a critical element in providing unmatched warfighting capability for the 21st Century."

The APG-79 radar has completed well over 200 flight tests to date and successfully demonstrated a range of critical functions. The team is currently maturing other advanced capability modes of the radar. APG-79 will equip the Super Hornet as well as the E/A-18G Airborne Electronic Attack variant.

Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems 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 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 (NYSE: RTN), 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.

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SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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