TUCSON, Ariz., April 18, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $144 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to conduct risk reduction work for Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) II.

Raytheon will be competing for selection in 42 months as the prime contractor for the SDB II program, which has a potential value of more than $1.3 billion.

As a netted weapon with an all-weather tri-mode seeker, SDB II provides warfighters with advanced capability to attack moving targets. This results in a very robust weapon system compatible with a wide variety of GPS-based targeting systems that can acquire and recognize moving targets.

"SDB II is one of the first members of the next generation of network-capable weapons," said Louise Francesconi, president of Raytheon's Missile Systems business in Tucson where the contract will be executed. "Raytheon is committed to bring this capability to the warfighter as quickly as possible."

"SDB II represents a total system solution enabling airborne and ground-based warfighters to communicate with and control a sophisticated small guided bomb to engage moving targets," said Ken Pedersen, vice president of Advanced Programs. "With the rapid advances in computer and electronics capability and affordability, it is exciting how much sophistication and capability we can put in this next generation of low-cost weapons."

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.

  Contact:
  Sara Hammond
  520.794.7810

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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

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