TEWKSBURY, Mass., May 17, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $10.1 million U.S. Army contract option to provide 16 Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) Tower Systems with Base Defense Operation Centers to help protect U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"The equipment Raytheon is providing to support U.S. military operations is helping to save the lives of our warfighters," said Pete Franklin, vice president, National & Theater Security Programs for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "The joint Raytheon and U.S. government team takes great pride in rapidly delivering this critical capability to our soldiers."

The contract calls for 16 elevated sensor systems, including remote operation capability, with deliveries beginning in June and ending in September 2007. In addition to supplying the systems, Raytheon is responsible for providing a systems engineering approach on the RAID program that involves linking it to other existing Army systems and providing whole life engineering support. Life-cycle support ensures that systems work the first time every time for the soldiers deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Work will be performed at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems' Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover, Mass., and Warfighter Protection Center, Huntsville, Ala. Also, Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC will provide field support.

Raytheon first developed RAID to meet the Army's increasingly critical needs in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. RAID is a persistent surveillance system consisting of infrared sensor systems elevated on a stationary platform. It is capable of detecting hostile troop and equipment movement at great distances. This capability enables U.S. forces to respond rapidly to threat situations.

Integrated Defense Systems is Raytheon's leader in Joint Battlespace Integration providing affordable, integrated solutions to a broad international and domestic customer base, including the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the U.S. Armed Forces and the Department of Homeland Security.

Raytheon Company, with 2006 sales of $20.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 85 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 73,000 people worldwide.

  Contact:
  Joyce Melikian
  339.645.6967

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Joyce Melikian of Raytheon Company, +1-339-645-6967

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