TEWKSBURY, Mass., Aug. 23, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) achieved a significant milestone in the Zumwalt Class destroyer program with the successful design review of the ship's undersea warfare systems -- collectively referred to as the integrated acoustic sensor suite. With this success, the U.S. Navy has given Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) approval to advance the acoustic sensor suite's design into production.

The acoustic sensor suite delivers critical capabilities by providing operators with a complete undersea warfare picture that includes the search for, and detection of, potential threats such as submarines, torpedoes, mines and unmanned undersea vehicles. The suite integrates all Zumwalt acoustic undersea warfare systems and subsystems, including the dual frequency bow array, towed array, towed torpedo countermeasures, expendable bathythermograph, data sensor, acoustic decoy launcher, underwater communications, and associated software.

"The successful review proved to the Navy customer that this open architecture, integrated sonar system will effectively meet the design requirements of the Zumwalt Class destroyers," said Barbara Belt, IDS' program manager for the acoustic sensor suite. "The modularity of the suite's design offers the potential for widespread use on other naval platforms."

The acoustic sensor suite's open architecture conforms to the Navy's enterprise peer review process business model and technology insertion strategy. The solution for Zumwalt supports the Navy's goal of a single, common configuration for undersea warfare processing for its family of ships, thereby reducing lifecycle costs while allowing for rapid warfighting improvements. With the solution on board Zumwalt, the Navy will achieve a 33 percent reduction in undersea warfare manning requirements as compared to current ships in the fleet.

The design review -- which also determined that predefined space and weight allocations on board a Zumwalt Class ship are adequate to house the components of the acoustic sensor suite -- took place at the Raytheon IDS Maritime Mission Center, Portsmouth, R.I. Participants included representatives from Raytheon, Naval Sea Systems Command, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, as well as Lockheed Martin and other subcontractors.

The Zumwalt Class destroyer program is one of several programs to successfully employ IDS' OpenAIR™ (Affordability, Innovation and Results) business model that leverages the best of academia, large businesses, and small businesses including Argon ST, Applied Acoustic Concepts, and Adaptive Methods. OpenAIR provides customers with effective solutions at affordable prices, ensures repeated collaboration, and combines IDS' knowledge and processes with the innovation and agility of small business.

Raytheon IDS serves as the prime mission systems integrator for all electronic and combat systems for the Zumwalt Class destroyer program under the Navy's DDG 1000 Detail Design and Integration contract awarded in 2005. Working together with the Navy and a team of industry leaders, IDS is leading the effort to transform the Navy's ship requirements to reality. For more information visit http://www.raytheon.com/products/ddg_1000.

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:
  Carolyn Beaudry
  401.842.3550

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Carolyn Beaudry of Raytheon Company, +1-401-842-3550

Web site: http://www.raytheon.com/
http://www.raytheon.com/products/ddg_1000