AACER System Would Detect Ground Targets While Passing Data About Them

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AACER System Would Detect Ground Targets While Passing Data About Them
     EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 2, 2005 /PRNewswire/ -- Development of an
airborne radar that can search broadly for ground targets while transmitting
data about them at Ka-band is the objective of the Affordable Adaptive
Conformal ESA Radar (AACER) program awarded to Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) by
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
    Raytheon was selected to proceed with Phase II of a planned three-phase,
four-year program after a competitive down-select at the end of Phase I with
Northrop-Grumman Electronic Systems. The AACER system is a DARPA funded
program being administered by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi,
Md.
    "This is truly a multi-functional and multi-frequency system," Nick Uros,
vice president for the Advanced Concepts and Technology unit of the company's
Space and Airborne Systems business, said. "It'll scan electronically. No
mechanical parts are involved. Therefore, it'll operate at the speed of
light."
    Intended for use on rotary unmanned aerial vehicles in development by
DARPA and the Army, the AACER system will feature ground moving target
detection and track, dismount detection, synthetic aperture radar imaging, and
high data-rate communications capability at Ka-band. The technology for
electronic processing combines elements of Raytheon's APG-79 electronically
scanned array radar for the F/A-18 and seeker technology from the company's
Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile with innovative new low-cost
millimeter-wave hardware designs.
     AACER is based on the design and experience gained on DARPA's A-160 Ka-
band Radar Flight Demonstration and Ka-band Electronically Scanned Array
programs, the Air Force Research Laboratory's Varactor CTS ESA DUST program,
and a significant investment by Raytheon during the past 10 years.
     Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) is the leading provider of
sensor systems giving warfighters the most accurate and timely information
available for the network-centric battlefield. With 2004 revenues of $4
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 2004 sales of $20.2 billion, is an industry leader
in defense and government electronics, space, information technology,
technical services and special-mission aircraft. Headquartered in Waltham,
Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide.

     Contact:
     Art Bentley
     310-647-3266
SOURCE Raytheon Company
http://www.raytheon.com
CONTACT:
Art Bentley of Raytheon Company,
+1-310-647-3266