EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 13, 2005  /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's Space
and Airborne Systems (SAS) has delivered ahead of schedule its first
revolutionary APG-79 radar to Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in St. Louis.

    This low rate initial production (LRIP) delivery is the first of 415
radars to be delivered to Boeing for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, with the goal
of operational readiness by September 2006.

    The APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system
provides aircrew with greater capabilities than ever before.  Aside from
increased reliability, the radar provides improved situational awareness
through its ability to conduct both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations
almost simultaneously at greater distances.

    "The APG-79 radar will truly revolutionize the warfighting capability of
the Super Hornet.  Following a year of successful flight testing, we are
looking forward to equipping the fleet with AESA technology," said Cmdr. Aaron
Bowman, the F/A-18/EA-18G U.S. Navy radar program manager.

    "The APG-79 AESA radar is a key element to the Block II upgrades we
designed into the Super Hornet from its inception," said Roger Besancenez,
AESA program manager for Boeing.  "This spiral development, including advanced
displays, new navigation systems and the APG-79 AESA radar system, enhances
the Super Hornet's role as the premier strike fighter in today's battlespace
and an advanced node in the vision of ForceNET."

    "We are proud that the APG-79 AESA radar has been developed in record time
from concept to development, now culminating in our first LRIP customer
delivery.  The technology innovations contained within the APG-79 will set the
standard for radar capabilities for many years to come, putting Raytheon at
the leading edge of the industry," said Erv Grau, vice president for Air
Combat Avionics, the business unit within Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems,
which produces the system.

    Most radar systems are created as evolutionary improvements to earlier
systems.  The APG-79 AESA radar, however, consists of entirely newly designed
hardware and software that provides revolutionary capability and reliability
for the warfighter's present and future needs.

    This new system, made possible through a quantum leap in technology
development will equip the Super Hornet as well as the E/A-18G Airborne
Electronic Attack variant.

    Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2003 sales of $18.1 billion, is an
industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information
technology, technical services and business and special mission aircraft. With
headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 78,000 people worldwide.

  Contact
   Faith Jennings
   310 334 2553 office
   310 977 1963 mobile
   faith_jennings@raytheon.com



SOURCE: Raytheon Company



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