EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 2, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- The Team JCA partnership led by Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and EADS CASA North America has completed the Early User Survey (EUS) demonstration of its C-295 military transport aircraft for the Joint Cargo Aircraft program managed by the U.S. Army and Air Force.

During the demonstration, the JCA program office evaluated aircraft performance based on the proposal that Team JCA offered, judging flight performance and handling qualities, reconfiguration, short field performance, defense suite, and air drop and austere field operations.

"Team JCA is confident that the EUS demonstrated the C-295's unrivaled performance for meeting the crucial mission of medium transport for the U.S. warfighter," said Jim Hvizd, vice president of Team JCA.

In service currently with coalition partners in Iraq and Afghanistan, the C-295 is the only combat-tested aircraft competing for the JCA requirement and the only such aircraft certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. The C-295 is completing its seventh year of JCA-type lift missions with the armed services of Spain, Poland, Algeria and Jordan and is in production for Brazil, Portugal and Finland. It has also won formal competitions in Australia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

The C-295 benefits from more than 1 million JCA-type flights by its family of military transport aircraft that also includes the CN-235 and the C-212, a milestone no other competitor for the program can claim. With the greatest floor space in its class, the C-295 can carry five pallets and 61 people, exceeding the capacity of any JCA competitor. This advantage would allow the aircraft to protect more soldiers in combat from improvised explosive devices.

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:
  Lorenzo Cortes
  310.334.4431 office
  310.503.3089 mobile
  Lorenzo_R_Cortes@raytheon.com

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Lorenzo Cortes of Raytheon, +1-310-334-4431, +1-310-503-3089
(mobile), Lorenzo_R_Cortes@raytheon.com

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