WASHINGTON, April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has launched a new Web site to recruit industry and academic partners to help defeat improvised explosive devices (IED), the No. 1 killer of service members in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Potential partners can join the effort by registering solutions and ideas at http://www.raytheon.com/missions/rtn07_ied.

The Web site allows industry and academia to make teaming and partnership recommendations for proposed solutions and to receive rapid, confidential reviews and feedback on those solutions. The site also maintains proprietary safeguards to protect submitted information against improper disclosure.

"As an industry leader in Mission Systems Integration, Raytheon is committed to ending the threat of IEDs to service members," said Jack Costello, vice president of Business Development and Strategic Planning for Raytheon Network Centric Systems. "Coalition forces are still being affected on the battlefield, so we decided to exhaust every opportunity to find the best solutions. I hope industry accepts our challenge in this important endeavor."

As the leader of this effort, the Raytheon IED-Defeat Task Force offers solutions that fill technology and capability gaps. The task force also addresses urgent operational needs in programs approved and funded by the Defense Department's Joint IED Defeat Office, the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, as well as the Army and the Navy.

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning more than 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 72,000 people worldwide.

   Contact:
   George Rhynedance
   703.284.4439

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: George Rhynedance of Raytheon Company, +1-703-284-4439

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