TEWKSBURY, Mass., Oct. 20, 2004  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Raytheon Company
has been awarded a contract by Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) for the production and delivery of MK56 Evolved Seasparrow
Missile Vertical Launching Systems and associated supplies and services.
Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

    The launching systems will be installed on four Baynunah class corvettes
being constructed by ADSB for the UAE Navy.  The contract includes an option
to equip two additional ship sets.

    The MK56 was chosen competitively by the UAE Navy as the preferred
launching system for the Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM), which will be the
primary air defense system for the Baynunah class.  Raytheon's MK56 is one of
a family of Seasparrow Vertical Missile Launchers now currently operational in
six international navies around the world.

    The MK56 launcher is a lightweight system designed and qualified
specifically for the ESSM.  It has been used for multiple live firings of the
ESSM conducted by both the U.S. and Royal Danish Navies, all of which were
completely successful.  In fact, the U.S. Navy used the launcher as part of
the ESSM missile qualification program.  The MK56 is adaptable to a variety of
configurations to support from four to 16 missiles, equally suitable for small
and larger naval platforms.

    Work on this program will be performed at Raytheon Integrated Defense
Systems' Naval Integration Center in Portsmouth, R.I., Surveillance and
Sensors Center in Sudbury, Mass.; Raytheon Australia Pty Ltd.; and at the
shipyards in Cherbourg, France, and Abu Dhabi, UAE, where the Baynunah vessels
are being constructed.

    Based in Tewksbury, Mass., Integrated Defense Systems is Raytheon's leader
in mission systems integration. With a strong international and domestic
customer base, including the U.S. armed forces and the U.S. Missile Defense
Agency, Integrated Defense Systems provides integrated solutions for the air,
surface and subsurface battlespace.

    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 more than 78,000 people
worldwide.


  Contact:
  Steve Brecken
  781.522.5127


SOURCE: Raytheon Company

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