Raytheon Marine Company Awarded U.S. Air Force CLADS Contract Valued at up to $29M.

PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 1999--

Raytheon Marine Company's Digital Display Group, located in Plano Texas, has been awarded a firm fixed price contract with options by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to replace aging and obsolete crew station monitors based on CRT technology with aircraft specific variations of Raytheon's 21 inch Digital Ruggedized Display (21 DRD).

The $29 million contract calls for the delivery of up to 1071 displays. Initial deliveries will take place during the fourth quarter of 1999.

Raytheon's 21 DRD, based on the Texas Instruments Digital Micromirror Device(tm), has been praised as the "vanguard of a new breed of computer display" and validated through the USAF Common Large Area Display Set Program (CLADS). This program was initiated in 1995 by the USAF to address a perceived diminishing number of manufacturing sources for large display systems used aboard AWACS and other Command & Control and Surveillance aircraft.

The CLADS program will set the new standard for airborne command and control displays, and marks the first step away from aging cathode ray tube technology to digital display systems with greater reliability and image clarity. AWACS, Joint STARS, and ABCCC are the initial aircraft to be retrofitted under the CLADS Program, with the AWACS aircraft fleet first to receive a full complement of Raytheon 21 DRD's.

The CLADS program was established at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia under the management of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WRALC). CLADS defined the requirements for a common display that could be used on multiple platforms. Testing of various display systems, including the Raytheon 21 DRD, was conducted throughout 1996 - 1998 to validate the CLADS requirements. Raytheon's 21 DRD performed superbly throughout the specification development and testing process.

Considered a "Lifetime" display because of its rugged construction, built-in reliability features and environmental "friendliness" (non-susceptibility to EMI, no emissions, no degaussing required), the 21 DRD beat the competition consisting of other display technologies.

RMC Digital Display Group is a division of Raytheon Marine Company. Formed after Raytheon's acquisition of Texas Instruments military related businesses, RMC Digital Display Group has become the display industry's first and only provider of what is considered a Lifetime display. RMC Digital Display Group offers a full line of commercial and military display products including a 21" DRD, 32" DRD, and High Resolution Data Wall Projectors. Pete Smith, RMC's DRD Marketing Director states "These inherently clean, all-digital displays have the potential to transform the display industry in the same way that the advent of the compact disc transformed the sound and recording industry."

Raytheon Company is a global technology leader that provides state-of-the-art 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 serves customers in more than 80 countries around the world.

(tm) Digital Micromirror Device and DMD are trademarks of Texas Instruments.