TEWKSBURY, Mass., April 23, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received a $79 million Foreign Military Sales award from the U.S. Army to provide Taiwan with Patriot Configuration-3 radar upgrade kits and related engineering and technical services.

The award for Taiwan Patriot upgrade kits follows recent company announcements of contracts totaling $279 million to provide South Korea command and control, communications, and maintenance support and training equipment for its Patriot air and missile defense system. Additionally, Raytheon announced Patriot contract awards of $377 and $115 million in February and March, respectively. These awards included engineering services, missile upgrades and support for the U.S. Army's "Pure Fleet" initiative.

"There is a growing demand, both domestically and internationally, for Raytheon's combat-proven Patriot system," said Sanjay Kapoor, vice president of Patriot Programs for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "These awards for Taiwan are additional indications of the continued expansion of Patriot as the cornerstone of the U.S. and its international partners' integrated air and missile defense systems.

"Working with the U.S. Army, we are providing Taiwan this increased capability. These upgrades are a testament to the continuing growth and operational flexibility of this premier system."

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) is the prime contractor for the Patriot system and the integration of all its variants.

Work will be performed by Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems at the Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover, Mass.; the Warfighter Protection Center, Huntsville, Ala.; and the Mission Capability and Verification Center, White Sands, N.M.

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 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 86 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.

SOURCE: Raytheon Company

CONTACT: Guy Shields of Raytheon Company, +1-978-858-5246

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