TEWKSBURY, Mass., March 27, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's offset business venture into "shrimp aquaculture technology" earned it international acclaim for its work to develop the Arabian Shrimp Company in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) Investment Program and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) presented members of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) Saudi Offset Limited Partnership (SOLP) the MENA-OECD Investor of the Year Award in the Innovative Entrepreneurship category.

SOLP was honored for its collaborative efforts working with the Saudi government to introduce shrimp aquaculture technologies along with related training and education to the region.

"We're very proud of our being recognized for work that highlights the close relationship we have with our customers in the MENA region," said Skip Garrett, vice president, Raytheon IDS International Operations business area. "Raytheon is committed to our customers and our offset obligations, and we work closely with our partners worldwide to develop innovative and creative offset program solutions to help countries with permanent economic development and job growth."

The award cited the SOLP program's efforts to create employment and industrial opportunities by training people in a new technology of shrimp farming in a developing region of Saudi Arabia. The Arabian Shrimp Company is expected to create hundreds of new jobs over the next five years and more as the business expands.

The SOLP program was nominated for the award by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority and was among hundreds of nominees submitted by all the countries in the Middle East region.

The MENA Investment Program is a regionally-driven program that aims to upgrade investment policy standards and help attract more and better investment and support capacities for policy makers in the MENA region. OECD designs and helps implement comprehensive regional and country-specific investment reform strategies.

Integrated Defense Systems is Raytheon's leader in Joint Battlespace Integration providing affordable, integrated solutions to a strong international and domestic customer base, including the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. armed forces.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2005 sales of $21.9 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:
   Guy Shields
   978.858.5246

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Guy Shields of Raytheon Company, +1-978-858-5246

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