WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Raytheon Company has been awarded a U.S. Army contract to provide the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps with an immediate forward deployed tactical air traffic control capability that will allow for faster deployment to any location at any time.

The contract has a potential value of $200 million with all options exercised for the AN/TPN-31 Air Traffic Navigation, Integration and Coordination System (ATNAVICS) and the AN/FPN-67 Fixed-Base Precision Approach Radar (FBPAR). The Army has exercised the first production option for $36 million which includes the manufacture, test and delivery of four ATNAVICS and technology refresh of key system components.

"ATNAVICS and FBPAR systems are deployed in operations worldwide, including the support of our Coalition Forces in Iraq," said Army Lt. Col. Christian Rush, program manager for U.S. Army Air Traffic Control. "We are excited that these new technology systems are providing our warfighters with significantly improved performance and reliability."

Under the contract, Raytheon will manufacture, test and deliver up to 30 ATNAVICS and nine FBPAR systems over five years. This follows an earlier initial contract in which Raytheon provided the U.S. Army with 24 ATNAVICS and 18 FBPAR systems. Under the new procurement, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps plan to procure 12 ATNAVICS for Marine Expeditionary Force use.

"The ATNAVICS will be produced in Raytheon's Largo, Fla., facility by its experienced manufacturing team, which has successfully produced 24 systems over the past seven years," said U.S. Rep. C. W. Bill Young (R-Indian Shores, Fla.), the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. "This new work is good news for Raytheon and for the high tech employment base in Pinellas County, where Raytheon employs approximately 1,800 employees."

The AN/TPN-31 ATNAVICS is the world's only fully autonomous International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and U.S. National Airspace System compliant Ground-Controlled Approach (GCA) system that can be transported in a single C- 130 aircraft. The fully integrated system provides air traffic control services for the rapid deployment of troops and equipment to remote locations where no operational airport control and landing system exists.

Mounted on two High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), ATNAVICS includes Primary, Secondary and Precision Approach Radars, Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) capabilities as well as an operations shelter with controller consoles, advanced automation displays and secure multi-mode communications. The AN/FPN-67 FBPAR is a Precision Approach Radar (PAR) application intended for permanent airfield installation.

"When our troops deploy to locations where physical air traffic control infrastructure doesn't exist, they will do so with the same Raytheon technology used in more than 50 countries and that safely controls one-third of the world's skies," said Andy Zogg, Raytheon's vice president of Airspace Management and Homeland Security business. "Our military customers have benefited from the safety and reliability of Raytheon systems for the last 10 years and know they can rely on us for their next generation of our air traffic control systems."

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:
  Lynford Morton
  703.284.4446

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Lynford Morton of Raytheon Company, +1-703-284-4446

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