Raytheon Awarded Aircraft GPS Systems Contract Potentially Worth $167 Million.

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1998--Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTNA,RTNB) has been awarded a Department of Defense contract with a potential value of $167 million for the qualification and production of the Miniature Airborne Global Positioning Receiver 2000 (MAGR 2000). MAGR 2000 will provide precision GPS navigation for most military airborne platforms, including the B-1B, F/A-18, AH-64, AV-8B and F-117, among others.

The firm fixed price indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, awarded by the GPS Joint Program Office, U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Command, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., allows annual MAGR 2000 buys over a six-year production period that could total up to 4,000 units. Total contract period of performance is 18 years, with Raytheon Systems Company operating a depot for the MAGR 2000 until the year 2017. This effort may include foreign military sales to Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia.

Value of the initial contract order is $8.7 million, which includes qualification and production of both radio frequency and intermediate frequency receiver configurations.

"This award is a significant step toward upgrading the capability of U.S. forces by providing them high performance GPS equipment to enhance their ability to fight in the modern battlefield," said Dimitri Theodorou, director of Raytheon's Precision Guidance Systems.

Raytheon Company, based in Lexington, Mass., is a global technology leader that provides products and services in the areas of commercial and defense electronics, engineering and construction, and business and special mission aircraft. Raytheon has operations throughout the United States and services more than 80 countries around the world.

Notes to editors follow.

-- The work will be performed by Raytheon Systems Company's Sensors and Electronic Systems segment, El Segundo, Calif.

-- Additional technical quote: "Raytheon is pleased to participate in this important first step in production of the next generation of military GPS user equipment as part of the GPS Modernization Initiative," said Mark Youhanaie, manager of Raytheon's GPS Technology Operations. "It also represents the first installation of open architecture GPS avionics based on the GPS Receiver Application Module SEM-E format ("GRAM") standard, defined by government-industry cooperative activities over the past three years.

"The open architecture design allows for lower life cycle cost by making upgrades easier to implement," he continued. "The initial units improve existing MAGR performance with features such as all-in-view tracking, receiver autonomous integrity monitoring and higher jam immunity. Future upgrade options included in the contract include a SAASM security module, fast Y-code acquisition, and wide area augmentation system compatibility. This forward-looking program provides its users with military GPS capabilities that cover a 20 year horizon."