Raytheon signs on in Boeing deal for surveillance aircraft

Raytheon Co.'s Space and Airborne Systems and Boeing Co. inked a $60.8 million contract for continued participation on the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft industry team, officials from the companies said.

Under the systems development and demonstration contract Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon will contribute to related software design and provide radar simulation for design labs and program reviews. The company also will provide two upgraded maritime surveillance radars.

The Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft program celebrated its one-year anniversary last month. Boeing is the prime contractor on the Naval Air Systems Command project.

The upgraded APS-137 maritime surveillance radar will provide all-weather surveillance capabilities for open water and shoreline operations. The capabilities include netted intelligence and reconnaissance operations.

The multi-resolution radar capabilities include long-range surface search and target tracking, periscope detection in high seas, ship imaging and classification using inverse synthetic aperture radar, and synthetic aperture radar for overland surveillance, ground mapping and targeting.

Specific upgrades to the radar include joint technical architecture compliance for seamless net-centric operation, as part of the Boeing aircraft backbone, and full integration with the Boeing mission system.

Raytheon has 80,000 employees and annual sales of $20.2 billion. The company ranks No.7 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue.

Boeing of Chicago has 159,000 employees and annual sales of $52.5 billion. The company ranks No. 10 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list.