TEWKSBURY, Mass., 9 Sept. 2005. Raytheon Co. has been awarded a $17 million U.S. Army contract to provide 15 RAID (Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment) systems, along with systems engineering and life cycle support, to support Operation Eagle Eye, an Army surveillance and protection mission to monitor weapons storage sites.

RAID consists of infrared sensor systems elevated on a stationary platform capable of detecting hostile troop and/or equipment movement at great distances. For Operation Eagle Eye, the RAID system will be enhanced to include the addition of a motion detection radar and command and control. This enables U.S. forces to respond rapidly to any threatening situation.

RAID was first developed by Raytheon to meet the Army's developing critical needs in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). This is the third such contract awarded to Raytheon for the RAID system.

"The equipment and services Raytheon is providing to support operation Eagle Eye demonstrates the flexibility and scalability of the RAID system," said Peter Choate, Raytheon RAID program manager. "In addition to providing enhanced detection capability, the ability of the Raytheon and government team to deploy 15 systems in five months demonstrates the agility required to provide our soldiers the right equipment, right now."

The contract calls for 15 elevated sensor systems, with deliveries beginning in October 2005 and ending in January 2006. In addition to supplying the systems, Raytheon is responsible for supporting the implementation of a systems engineering approach on the RAID program, linking it to other existing Army systems and providing whole life cycle support capability. By providing whole life cycle support, Raytheon ensures that these systems work the first time, every time for the soldiers deployed in OEF/OIF.

Work under the contract will be done by Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems in Andover, Mass., and Huntsville, Ala., along with support from Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC.

Based in Tewksbury, Mass., Integrated Defense Systems is Raytheon's leader in joint battle space integration. With a strong international and domestic customer base, including the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. armed forces, Integrated Defense Systems provides integrated air and missile defense and naval and maritime war fighting solutions.

Raytheon Company, with 2004 sales of $20.2 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 80,000 people worldwide. For more information, see www.raytheon.com.