June 7, 2007 -- Raytheon Company has received a $29 million contract for continued production of its ALE-50 line of towed decoys. The award by the 542nd Combat Sustainment Group, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga., represents the 11th production lot of ALE-50 equipment ordered for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy as part of an original contract that began in December 1996. The Lot 11 contract calls for 934 decoys for the Air Force and 335 for the Navy to be delivered through September 2009.

Raytheon recently produced its 23,000th ALE-50 decoy and achieved 11 years of on-time deliveries. Completion of the Lot 11 program will bring the total number of decoys produced by Raytheon to 24,634. "Our performance is a reflection of our commitment to program execution," said Roy Azevedo, manager of Raytheon's Electronic Warfare business area. "We deliver ALE-50 and advanced decoys with unparalleled in-flight stability and performance."

Towed decoy systems enhance aircraft survivability by acting as a preferential target for many types of missiles. Raytheon's ALE-50 system has played a key role in aircraft self-protection for several military conflicts and is currently operational on F-16, B-1B and F/A-18 aircraft. Work on the towed decoy system is being done at Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems business by its Electronic Warfare organization in Goleta, Calif.

Raytheon Company, with 2006 sales of $20.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 85 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 73,000 people worldwide.

Source: Raytheon