Raytheon's Joint Standoff Weapon Block II's First Captive Flight a Success

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Raytheon's Joint Standoff Weapon Block II's First Captive Flight a Success
    TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 13, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company's Joint
Standoff Weapon Block II (JSOW Block II), a new variant offering significantly
lower unit cost and an additional payload option, successfully flew its first
captive test flight Oct. 11 at Edwards Air Force Base on a U.S. Air Force F-16
aircraft.
    Raytheon is under contract with U.S. Naval Air Systems Command and expects
to complete development of the JSOW Block II in early 2006.  Block II is
planned to reduce JSOW unit cost approximately 40 percent.  Cost reduction is
achieved by reducing the parts count and improving the manufacturing process,
an example of Raytheon's company-wide efforts to make operations leaner while
providing superior products to customers.
    All variants of future JSOW precision glide weapons will be manufactured
in the Block II configuration.  Block II will maintain all standoff and
survivability capability of the current JSOW and will include an improved
anti-jam Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.  The Raptor GPS system is
an advanced navigator developed by Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems and is
planned for use in other Raytheon products.
    Development of a new payload option for the JSOW A should be complete in
early 2006.  This new version will use a unitary 500-pound BLU-111 (MK-82)
warhead and is designated the AGM-154A-1.  This unitary variant will eliminate
the unexploded ordnance concerns of cluster munitions while maintaining or
increasing effectiveness against a broad target set.  It is primarily intended
for the international market.
    "We are working with the Navy to make JSOW the most cost-effective
standoff weapon available," said Ron Shields, Raytheon's JSOW program
director.  "We are also developing JSOW moving target capability for land and
sea targets."
    Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), 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.

    Note to editors:
    JSOW is a joint Navy and Air Force program.  It is a family of low-cost,
air-to-ground weapons that employs an integrated GPS/Inertial Navigation
System that guides the weapon to the target.  The JSOW uses a common and
modular weapon body capable of carrying various payloads.  Its long standoff
range, at kinematic standoff ranges up to 70 nautical miles, allows delivery
from well outside the lethal range of most enemy air defenses.  The AGM-154A
(also called JSOW-A) variant dispenses BLU-97 combined-effect bomblets for use
against soft and area targets.  It is produced for use on the F/A-18, F-16, F-
15E, B-1, B-2, and B-52 aircraft.  The AGM-154C, or JSOW-C, variant
incorporates an imaging infrared seeker for high precision and a Broach multi-
stage warhead, which has both a blast-fragmentation and hard target
penetration capability for use against point targets.  JSOW-C is in full rate
production and achieved initial operation capability in February 2005 with the
U. S. Navy and Marine Corps.  It is currently being produced for Navy F/A-18s
and has been selected by Poland for use on its F-16s.  More than 400 JSOW-As
have been used in combat operations to date.  More than 1,900 JSOWs have been
delivered to date.

    Contact:
     Alan D. Fischer
     520.794.1211
SOURCE Raytheon Company
http://www.raytheon.com
CONTACT:
Alan D. Fischer of Raytheon Company,
+1-520-794-1211