FULLERTON, Calif., Sept. 6, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- ThalesRaytheonSystems has received a $25.6 million contract to provide the U.S. Air Force with capability upgrades to the Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F) for Air Combat Command, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense) and Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH).

"Having common software and a common human-machine interface between the fixed and mobile communities will reduce development, testing, and training costs for the Air Force," said Daniel De Sollar, director of ThalesRaytheonSystems Air C2 Systems in the U.S. "The upgrades will not only ensure a common look and feel between today's BCS-F and the mobile command and control variant, but they will also convert to the Linux operating system in order to take advantage of the latest hardware available."

BCS is the next-generation air sovereignty command and control system operated by NORAD, U.S. Northern Command, and Pacific Command. The BCS mission is to control the airspace over the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and Canada. It serves as the early warning mechanism in the vital U.S. homeland defense mission.

As prime contractor, ThalesRaytheonSystems provides advanced technology that features increased sensor capacity while improving interoperability among hundreds of legacy sensors, including more types of radars than any other Air Force system. It correlates and fuses data from airborne, ground, naval and civil air traffic sensors into an integrated air picture that allows commanders to monitor the airspace above, beyond and within the U.S. and Canadian borders.

"This latest spiral gives the Air Force the foundation for higher performance hardware, with improved human-machine interface, that supports the objective of common software for BCS Fixed and Mobile," said Kim Kerry, ThalesRaytheonSystems chief executive officer for U.S. Operations.

ThalesRaytheonSystems is an equally owned transatlantic joint venture between Raytheon Company and Thales Group. ThalesRaytheonSystems is a worldwide supplier of air defense command and control centers and ground-based radars. The company's annual revenue is $800 million, and it employs 1,400 people.

  Contact:
  In the United States:
  Krista Roos
  714.446.4600

  In Europe:
  Matt Pothecary
  +33.1.69.75.50.98

SOURCE: ThalesRaytheonSystems

CONTACT: Krista Roos, U.S., +1-714-446-4600, or Matt Pothecary, Europe,
+33.1.69.75.50.98, both of ThalesRaytheonSystems