ARLINGTON, Va., April 28  /PRNewswire/ -- At a media briefing held today,
Raytheon Company and its Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) team members
described the anticipated benefits that derive from its MUOS technical
solution. The Team's MUOS proposal, which was recently sent to the Space and
Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), offers significant advantages to
mobile warfighters and substantial savings to the U.S. Government.

    MUOS is the Department of Defense's next-generation, advanced narrow band
communications satellite constellation that will serve U.S. Army, Air Force,
Navy and Marine Corps troops.  SPAWAR is scheduled to award a multi-billion
dollar MUOS Risk Reduction and Design Development (RR&DD) and an Acquisition
and Operations Support (AOS) contract in June 2004. RR&DD runs through 2010
and covers system design, development, integration and testing.  AOS spans the
2006 to 2013 timeframe and supports the MUOS satellite constellation, a
comprehensive communication network and four ground stations that connect
mobile warfighters to the entire system and to each other.

    The benefits unique to Raytheon's technical approach include a 10-fold
increase in communication capability for more than 45,000 military radio users
who now transmit and receive messages via the Ultra High Frequency Follow On
(UFO) satellite constellation. As soon as the first MUOS satellite is launched
and operating, even the most disadvantaged troops will experience a dramatic
increase in satellite access and they will be able to communicate anytime,
anywhere.  Under Raytheon's approach, the same users will switch to the MUOS
network seamlessly, without equipment changes or training. In addition, the
team's technical solution will require no modification to thousands of
vehicles, aircraft and ships that use legacy UHF radios today. Avoiding
thousands of platform modifications would eliminate nearly $12 billion dollars
in potential government expenditures.

    As prime contractor and systems integrator, Raytheon has assembled a
proven team for MUOS: Honeywell Space Systems (NYSE: HON), Clearwater, Fla.;
Space Systems/Loral (NYSE: LOR) Palo Alto, Calif.; Northrop Grumman Astro
Aerospace (NYSE: NOC), Santa Barbara, Calif.; Science Applications
International Corporation, San Diego, Calif.; and ViaSat (NASDAQ: VSAT)
Carlsbad, Calif.

    "This is Raytheon's most important space communications program, and our
team is fully committed to its success," said Frank Van Rensselaer, Raytheon's
MUOS program manager. "We offer a low risk, evolutionary approach that will
allow disadvantaged warfighters to communicate anytime, anywhere."

    Pat DeWitt, president of Space Systems/Loral said, "When the first MUOS
satellite is launched, it will join more than 60 Loral 1300 satellite buses in
orbit. The 1300 bus is a proven, low risk platform that will support the
Team's end-to-end communication system."

    Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2003 sales of $18.1 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 78,000 people worldwide.

      Note to Editors:
  -- Disadvantaged military radio users are those located in a time or place
     in which they cannot access the satellite.  This can result from lack
     of satellite capacity or from terrain or buildings that block access to
     the satellite.  Today, these members of the military are the
     "disadvantaged users" in the world of satellite communications.  MUOS
     addresses their needs.
  -- Employees at Raytheon's St. Petersburg, Fla. facility will manage MUOS.
     The company has more than 40 years' experience in designing and
     developing communication payloads for satellites.
  -- Disclaimer: The United States Government has neither confirmed the
     accuracy of, nor does it endorse, any claims or representations made in
     this news release

  Contact:
   Patricia Perlini
   972.952.4033


SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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