TUCSON, Ariz., April 6, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received the first contract for international sale of its Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) to Turkey for integration on its F-16 aircraft.

Raytheon received a foreign military sales contract from the Naval Air Systems Command for procurement of JSOW AGM-154 A-1 with the BLU-111 warhead and JSOW AGM-154 C with the Broach warhead.

A foreign military sales contract for JSOW-C integration for Poland F-16s was awarded in 2003, and Poland's procurement of the system is expected next year. In addition, letters of agreement for JSOW integration with Greek F-16s and Singapore F-15s have been signed by the U.S. government. These contracts are expected to be awarded soon. Future JSOW missile procurement for these countries is planned.

"We are seeing an increased international interest in JSOW procurement because it offers a very cost effective solution for mid-range standoff weapons. JSOW has a maximum kinematic range of 70 nautical miles (130 kilometers) and is an extremely survivable weapon against defended targets," said Capt. David Dunaway, the Navy's JSOW program manager.

Raytheon is under contract with the Navy to provide JSOW to the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. JSOW deliveries started in 1997 with the first low-rate initial production delivery to the U.S. Navy.

Development of a Block III variant of JSOW has started, which will add moving target capability by adding a weapons data link and other improvements.

"This will give our warfighters a network capable weapon, which greatly increases their capability to engage moving land and sea targets at standoff range," said Ron Shields, Raytheon's JSOW program director. The first Block III weapon is scheduled to be produced in 2009.

JSOW was a 2005 winner of the Department of Defense David Packard award for Excellence in Acquisition for Block II cost reduction initiatives.

Raytheon Company, 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.

Note to editors:

JSOW is a joint U.S. Navy and Air Force program. It is a family of low-cost, air-to-ground weapons that employs an integrated Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation system that guides the weapon to the target.

The JSOW uses a common and modular weapon body capable of carrying various payloads. Its long standoff range, greater than 70 nautical miles (maximum kinematic performance), allows delivery from well outside the lethal range of most enemy air defenses. The AGM-154 A (also called JSOW-A) variant dispenses BLU-97 combined-effect bomblets for use against soft and area targets. It is produced for use on the F/A-18, F-16, F-15E, B-1, B-2 and B-52 aircraft.

The AGM-154 C, or JSOW-C, variant incorporates an imaging infrared seeker for high precision and a Broach multi-stage warhead, which has both a blast-fragmentation and hard target penetration capability for use against point targets. JSOW-C is in full-rate production and achieved initial operation capability in February 2005 with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. It is currently being produced for Navy F/A-18s and has been selected by Poland and Turkey for use on their F-16s.

More than 415 JSOW-As have been used in combat operations to date. Raytheon has produced more than 2,200 JSOWs.

  Contact:
   Sara Hammond
   520.794.7810

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Sara Hammond of Raytheon, +1-520-794-7810

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