MCKINNEY, Texas, 28 July 2009. Raytheon Company's Ground Soldier Ensemble team completed two major program milestones and is moving to demonstrate networked tactical situational awareness and digital communications capabilities for the dismounted warfighter.

Raytheon's GSE team delivered to the U.S. Army the first open frame hardware on schedule in June, and earlier that month, held its first preliminary design review.

"By all accounts, Raytheon GSE is progressing rapidly to meet the Army's aggressive prototype and testing schedule aimed at achieving 'Milestone C' production readiness," says Glynn Raymer, vice president, Raytheon Network Centric System Combat Systems. "Our team is working diligently to support the customer's innovative alternative to traditional system design and development.

"When you look at Raytheon GSE in the context of Army modernization, our program focus is not unlike our underlying approach to meeting the essential needs of the modern warfighter. We begin with and remain fixated on the soldier who operates at the tactical edge," continues Raymer. "In GSE, we are applying low-risk, proven technologies that yield reliable performance without compromising size, weight, or power."

Raytheon GSE links the dismounted soldier to the battlefield network for real-time tactical situational awareness. The soldier system incorporates human factors engineering and analysis for a comfortable fit made to endure harsh environments and long warfighter missions.