WALTHAM, Massachusetts, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company has been awarded a task order for CVN 78, the lead ship in the U.S. Navy's next generation of aircraft carriers, extending the company's leadership role as the mission systems integrator for the Navy's family of ships. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Raytheon will be the industry lead for warfare systems integration of all onboard weapons systems and electronics operations. Integration will be centered on Raytheon's proven Total Ship System Engineering approach to a common enterprise computing environment that will maximize multi-mission capabilities.

"This role on CVN 78 broadens our position as the Navy's mission systems integrator for the family of ships, providing warfighters with the edge they need to dominate the battlespace," said Dan Smith, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "The open architecture design promotes a 'design once, use many times' approach that establishes the foundation for all Navy surface ships to be built in the 21st century."

The task order was awarded to Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC, Raytheon's SeaPort-e prime contractor, as a performance-based cost plus award fee contract. It has a one-year base period, four one-year option periods, and up to seven one-year award terms for a total of 12 years.

In advancing the Navy toward joint battlespace integration, Raytheon will leverage the transformational technology advancements achieved as the mission systems integrator on the DD(X) and LPD ship programs. This will further support the application of common technologies and processes across multiple platforms in the fleet.

Under the task order, Raytheon will be the industry lead of the CVN 78 Warfare Systems Engineering Technical Team under the direction of the Navy's Program Executive Office -- Integrated Warfare Systems. Major tasks include requirements definition, analysis, design and integration, installation, test and certification of all CVN 78 warfare systems.

Work will be performed at Raytheon's Expeditionary Warfare Center in San Diego, Calif., and on-site at the Team Carrier 21 facility in Dahlgren, Va.

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2004 sales of US$20.2 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide.

Contact: Carolyn Beaudry +401.842.3550

Web site: http://www.raytheon.com

Carolyn Beaudry of Raytheon Company, +1-401-842-3550