Raytheon to continue deploying airport security equipment

The Federal Aviation Administration has exercised a one-year option to Raytheon Co. under the Security Equipment Installation II contract to continue installing and integrating explosives detection equipment at airports nationwide.


The one-year option is estimated at $35 million, according to Raytheon spokesman Dave Shea. Since its original award in 1999, SEI II has been worth more than $180 million to the Lexington, Mass., company, Shea said.


SEI II's one-year extension is concurrent with efforts by the Transportation Security Administration to select a team for its five-year, multibillion dollar Explosives Detection System/Explosives Trace Detection General Contractor program.

TSA wants to deploy explosives detection systems at all 438 commercial airports in the country by Dec. 31 to comply with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, which calls for 100 percent screening of all checked baggage by the end of the year.


Raytheon is teamed with Northrop Grumman Corp. to pursue the TSA contract, and an award is expected by May 31, Shea said.


The biggest difference between the two contracts is that the TSA project includes requirements for continual improvement and technology refreshment, Shea said. No one knows how the SEI II contract will be affected by the project, he said. It could be folded into the new contract, or it could be continued with the TSA contract winner serving as the prime contractor.


Raytheon was awarded the SEI contract in 1999. The award came after Raytheon performed successfully on a three-year contract awarded in 1996.

Under these contracts, the company has installed more than 185 explosives detection machines and 630 explosives trace machines at more than 72 airports. It is conducting site surveys at 22 major airports.