TUCSON, Ariz., April 9, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) was awarded an $80 million U.S. Air Force contract March 31 for Phase II risk reduction of a radar-jamming variant of its Miniature Air Launched Decoy.

MALD™ is a state-of-the-art, low-cost flight vehicle that is modular, air-launched and programmable. It weighs fewer than 300 pounds and has a range of approximately 500 nautical miles (about 575 statute miles). The new variant, known as the MALD-J, recently completed developmental flight testing and adds radar-jamming capability to the basic MALD platform.

"MALD-J is a key component in a system of systems that will fill a critical capability in the airborne electronic attack arena," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems product line. "Like the baseline MALD, the J variant is modular and designed with growth in mind."

The two-year contract calls for Raytheon to further develop, integrate and test the new MALD-J variant. Raytheon will conduct free-flight testing to ensure that MALD-J's hardware and software perform under representative conditions the system would face during operational missions.

The contract also calls for Raytheon to conduct a system critical design review. This sets the stage for a final system design and development that will focus on free-flight testing and, ultimately, low rate initial production, before becoming a weapon in the warfighter's arsenal. A milestone C decision -- the decision to go into production -- is expected in early 2011.

The Miniature Air Launched Decoy is a low-cost, air-launched programmable craft that accurately duplicates the combat flight profiles and signatures of U.S. and allied aircraft. In addition to protecting valuable aircraft, MALD offers counter air operations to neutralize air defense systems that pose a threat to U.S. and allied pilots. It has successfully completed 35 of 37 flight tests.

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.

Note to Editors:

This contract award was originally announced by the Department of Defense March 31, 2008.

  http://www.raytheon.com/

  Contact:
  Mike Nachshen
  520.794.4088 direct
  520.269.5697 mobile
  Michael_Nachshen@raytheon.com

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Mike Nachshen of Raytheon Company, +1-520-794-4088,
cell, +1-520-269-5697, Michael_Nachshen@raytheon.com

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