MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Feb. 9, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- During an exercise with the I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) successfully demonstrated that a traditional, transportable satellite communications terminal could be field configured to communicate without acquiring a satellite connection.

This capability, known as Troposcatter, or TROPO, transmits radio waves over the curvature of the Earth without using satellites. The U.S. military currently employs these systems for tactical and strategic communications throughout the world.

"This demonstration showed that it is possible to provide a viable alternative to traditional satellite communications with a light-weight, low- power and rapidly deployable solution," said Jerry Powlen, vice president, Network Centric Systems' Integrated Communications Systems. "Enemy threats to satellite communications are real. We are offering a high-performance, cost- effective solution to counter these threats."

Colonel Kirk Bruno, information technology officer for the I Marine Expeditionary Force, said: "The ease of deployment and set up and the improved data rates with TROPO systems drastically reduce the support needed to carry out a mission. Increased data throughput without relying on already stressed satellites is critical, and unlike satellite communications, TROPO systems provide cost-free access."

Raytheon established the TROPO communications link between its Dual-Mode, All-Band Re-locatable Tactical Terminal, or DART-T, and a modified Joint Network Node satellite transportable terminal.

The demonstration showed that the widely fielded JNN terminal could be adapted to include a high-bandwidth troposcatter mode, which not only minimizes the current limitation of existing satellite bandwidth, but also provides continuous and reliable communications in areas of the world that do not have access to SATCOM.

Raytheon Company, with 2006 sales of $20.3 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 more than 80,000 people worldwide.

  Contact:
  MB Hodgkiss
  508.490.2607

  Note to Editors:

Dual-Mode, All-Band Re-locatable Tactical Terminal (DART-T) is the industry's most advanced TROPO communications link, providing voice, video and data. It is a multipurpose, mobile platform that provides single antenna communications for both TROPO, SATCOM and line-of-sight communications.

Over a five-day period, during this demonstration, the vehicle-mounted DART-T terminal and its TROPO-modified JNN trailer, both single antenna systems, delivered continuous, error-free data operation over a 20Mbps troposcatter link.

JNN is a system that the U.S. military uses for remote, satellite-based communications.

Troposcatter operates by bouncing signals off irregularities (small changes in humidity, temperature and pressure) in the troposphere, approximately 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: MB Hodgkiss for Raytheon Company, +1-508-490-2607

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