HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 13, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To meet its projected business growth in North Alabama, Raytheon Company today officially broke ground for its new 140,000 square-foot, three-story facility in Huntsville's Cummings Research Park.

"We are making this significant investment in Huntsville because it's the right thing to do for our people," said Dan Smith, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) president. "Several years ago we projected the tremendous growth opportunities in North Alabama and planned on building this new facility."

Alabama Governor Bob Riley, Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer and Madison County Commission Chairman Mike Gillespie joined other local elected officials, community leaders, customers, Raytheon senior executives and Raytheon Huntsville employees for the groundbreaking ceremony. Most of the Raytheon employees attending will relocate into the new facility upon its completion early next year.

The new building is being constructed on 20 acres at the corner of Old Madison Pike and Jan Davis Way, with planned occupancy by early 2007. The design architect for the new facility is Fuqua and Partners of Huntsville, and Turner Universal in Huntsville will construct the building.

The new Raytheon-owned facility will accommodate 500 people and will consist of engineering, management, business development and customer support space. Raytheon's facilities in Huntsville are managed by Raytheon IDS.

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:
   Jim Keller
   256.542.4051

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Jim Keller of Raytheon, +1-256-542-4051

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