RESTON, Va., Sept. 7, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a contract by NOAA's (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) National Weather Service (NWS) to provide operations and maintenance for the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), a nationwide operational weather data analysis and dissemination system.

Raytheon estimates the value of the award, which has a five-year base period and five one-year options, to be approximately $300 million if all options are exercised. Work on the contract will focus on supporting more than 168 sites with AWIPS hardware, software, and communications.

Raytheon Information Solutions (RIS), based in Reston, Va., will provide software operations and maintenance, software development, hardware maintenance and logistics, COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) software maintenance, satellite communications, and network monitoring and control. Raytheon will perform the work, as well as operate a network control facility, primarily in Silver Spring, Md.

"Raytheon has an outstanding record of providing reliable and state-of- the-art environmental science and information technology solutions to the NWS and NOAA," said Ron Ross, vice president of RIS. "We are committed to providing NWS and the broader weather community the technology support necessary to carry out their vital mission of bringing critical, time- sensitive weather and forecast information throughout the United States and around the world."

AWIPS provides an extensible architecture to allow for highly available data communications, processing, and meteorological and hydrologic display capabilities in an integrated environment. It supports NWS' operational mission by providing a very efficient and effective means for forecasters to prepare and issue timely, accurate forecasts and warnings.

"Our solution aligns with the National Weather Service's mission requirements and is focused on delivering results and innovation," said Buddy Ritchie, Raytheon AWIPS program manager. "Raytheon's in-depth understanding of the mission of the weather community, detailed knowledge of the NWS, and all facets of weather operations are critical to being a successful partner on the AWIPS operations and maintenance contract."

Raytheon Information Solutions delivers customer-focused industry best practices and best-of-breed IT solutions that enable federal agency mission objectives.

Teaming with Raytheon are Keane Federal Systems, McLean, Va.; Globecomm Systems, Hauppauge, N.Y.; ENSCO, Falls Church, Va.; GTSI, Chantilly, Va.; Reston Consulting Group, Herndon, Va.; Fairfield Technologies, Washington, D.C.; Apex Digital Systems, Silver Spring, Md.; and Earth Resources Technology, Jessup, Md.

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:
  Darci Bushey
  303.344.6608

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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