Raytheon has been awarded a $10.1 million U.S. Army contract option to provide 16 Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) Tower Systems with Base Defense Operation Centers to help protect U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. "The equipment Raytheon is providing to support U.S. military operations is helping to save the lives of our warfighters," said Pete Franklin, vice president, National and Theater Security Programs for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.
"The joint Raytheon and U.S. government team takes great pride in rapidly delivering this critical capability to our soldiers."
The contract calls for 16 elevated sensor systems, including remote operation capability, with deliveries beginning in June and ending in September 2007.
In addition to supplying the systems, Raytheon is responsible for providing a systems engineering approach on the RAID program that involves linking it to other existing Army systems and providing whole life engineering support.
Life-cycle support ensures that systems work the first time every time for the soldiers deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Work will be performed at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems' Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover, Mass., and Warfighter Protection Center, Huntsville, Ala. Also, Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC will provide field support.
Raytheon first developed RAID to meet the Army's increasingly critical needs in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. RAID is a persistent surveillance system consisting of infrared sensor systems elevated on a stationary platform.
It is capable of detecting hostile troop and equipment movement at great distances. This capability enables U.S. forces to respond rapidly to threat situations.
