Contract Worth $43 Million

Raytheon Company has been awarded a $43.3 million contract for production of its ALR-67(V)3 radar warning receiver system for the US Navy.

The ALR-67(V)3, which is the state-of-the-art radar warning receiver on US Navy F/A-18E/F carrier-based tactical aircraft, recently completed a successful initial deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The award was received from the US Navy's Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River (MD), and calls for the delivery of 30 radar warning receivers plus spares. Four annual follow-on options call for 140 additional systems and are valued at $166.3 million.

"This fourth generation radar warning receiver, the ALR-67(V)3, is a major component of the Super Hornet's Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures set, one of the keys to the aircraft's survivability," said F/A-18 Program Manager Capt. BD Gaddis. "Today's event is yet another important step in the evolutionary, spiral development of the F/A-18, keeping it ahead of the evolving threat and at the same time developing available and affordable elements of the aircraft."

Deliveries of the system under the Lot 6 contract will begin in October 2005 and are expected to be complete by September 2006. The production award represents the sixth full rate production lot awarded to Raytheon. Low rate initial production of the system began in June 1998, followed by full rate production (Lot 1) in August 1999.

"This award is a validation of the superior performance demonstrated by the ALR-67(V)3 in Operation Iraqi Freedom," stated Pat Hurley, vice president and general manager, Raytheon Electronic Warfare Systems. "And it is another example of a Raytheon product contributing to a complete mission systems solution."

The system, designated the AN/ALR-67(V)3, provides advanced techniques to detect and identify threat radar emitters, thereby enhancing the survivability of aircraft equipped with the system. A total of 242 radar warning receivers plus spares has now been ordered under the overall production program. Future international sales of the system are also possible. Work on the radar warning receiver is being done by the company's Electronic Warfare Systems organization in Goleta (CA) with support provided by facilities in El Segundo, (CA), Forest (MS) and McKinney (TX).

The ALR-67(V)3 is designed to enhance the survivability of aircrews by providing improved situational awareness in today's complex electronic warfare environments. This includes emitter identification, extended capabilities in detection and processing, threat location and potential lethality. Raytheon has packaged the channelized radar warning receiver into an extraordinarily lightweight 100-pound system that is designed to meet the Navy's electronic warfare requirements well into the 21st Century.

FMI: www.raytheon.com