Raytheon Targeting Pod Achieves 100,000 Flight Hours on F/A-18

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Raytheon Targeting Pod Achieves 100,000 Flight Hours on F/A-18
    McKINNEY, Texas, Jan. 24, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Navy has
confirmed that Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) advanced targeting pod
achieved 100,000 operational flight hours on F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet
aircraft.
    The Raytheon Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared system
officially logged its 100,000th flight hour last month over Iraq, according
to Cmdr. Martin Beaulieu, who leads the electro-optical/infrared integrated
product team within the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 program office.
    "When you consider that ATFLIR's initial operational capability
occurred in September 2003, it has been a relatively short time for the pod
to reach this significant milestone," said Mike Crisp, Raytheon program
manager for ATFLIR. "It also speaks volumes about the system's use by naval
aviation. Mission demand for ATFLIR has dramatically increased, and
Raytheon continues to support an ATFLIR operational availability of well
above 80 percent."
    During a special luncheon Thursday, Jan. 18, at Raytheon's McKinney
site, Capt. B.D. Gaddis, Naval Air Systems Command manager for the F/A-18
program, told employees: "ATFLIR continues to be an important element and
key enabler in how we employ Navy TACAIR (tactical air operations) and
project power from the sea. You've produced a world-class sensor, and its
capabilities are on the front lines of the global war on terror. We
congratulate your workforce in providing this outstanding system on time
and within budget. "
    The AN/ASQ-228 pod is a program of record for the Hornet and Super
Hornet, including Navy and Marine Corps aircraft carrier-based squadrons.
In its 100,000 hours of supporting flight operations, ATFLIR has detected
and tracked targets at altitudes and ranges substantially greater than
those of other targeting systems. Raytheon's is also the only pod that
provides continuous auto-boresight alignment. The electro-optical sensor,
targeting FLIR, and high-power laser share a common optical path for
unmatched accuracy and mission effectiveness.
    With recent contract awards totaling more than $200 million, the
targeting pod represents significant business for Raytheon Space and
Airborne Systems. The current Navy program calls for 410 systems. More than
900 employees build and repair the ATFLIR pod in McKinney and El Segundo,
Calif.
    "We closed out 2006 with 161 pods delivered on the program and ahead of
contract," Crisp said. "That's a full-rate production pace we're proud of,
having transitioned ATFLIR production operations a year earlier from El
Segundo to McKinney to build a common factory for electro-optical and
infrared systems."
    Raytheon SAS is a leading provider of sensor systems giving warfighters
the most accurate and timely information available for the network-centric
battlefield. With 2005 revenues of $4.2 billion and 13,000 employees, SAS
is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., with additional facilities in
Goleta, Calif.; Forest, Miss.; Dallas, McKinney and Plano, Texas; and
several international locations.
    Raytheon Company, with 2005 sales of $21.9 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.
     Contact:
     Dave Desilets
     972.952.2239
SOURCE Raytheon Company
http://www.raytheon.com
CONTACT:
Dave Desilets of Raytheon Company,
+1-972-952-2239