Two former college roommates
Laurence K. Marshall and
Vannevar Bush , along with scientist
Charles G. Smith , founded the American Appliance Company in
Cambridge, Massachusetts in
1922 . The company's first product was a gaseous
Rectifier , called the ''Raytheon'' ("light of the gods") and used for
Radio -receiver
Power Supplies that plugged into the power grid in place of large
Batteries . The company changed its name to Raytheon in
1925 .
In
World War II Raytheon manufactured
Magnetron tubes for use in
Radar sets, and then complete radar systems. (In
1945 Raytheon's
Percy Spencer invented the
Microwave Oven by discovering that the magnetron could also
Cook Food .) In
1948 Raytheon began to manufacture
Guided Missile s. During the post-war years Raytheon also made radio and television
Transmitter s and related equipment for the commercial market in the U.S., and got into the educational
Publishing business with the acquisition of
D.C. Heath .
In the mid-1990's, Raytheon purchased the defense businesses of
E-Systems and
Texas Instruments . In
1997 Raytheon also acquired the defense business of
Hughes Electronics from
General Motors , which included a number of product lines previously purchased by Hughes including the former
General Dynamics Missile business, the defense portion of
Delco Electronics , and
Magnavox Electronic Systems . These acquisitions/mergers added many important military products to Raytheon's portfolio.
In the
1990s Raytheon tried to build a
Personal Rapid Transit system called PRT2000 but didn't win any contracts. The system sits idle at their
Marlboro, Massachusetts facility.
Raytheon is currently composed of seven major businesses:
- Integrated Defense Systems - based in Tewksbury, Massachusetts ; Dan Smith, President
- Intelligence And Information Systems - based in Garland, Texas ; Mike Keebaugh , President
- Missile Systems - based in Tucson, Arizona ; Louise Francesconi, President
- Network Centric Systems - based in McKinney, Texas ; Colin Schottlaender, President
- Raytheon Aircraft Company - based in Wichita, Kansas ; James E. Schuster, Chairman
- Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC - based in Reston, Virginia ; Bryan Even, President
- Space And Airborne Systems - based in El Segundo, California ; Jon Jones, President
In addition to its US domestic facilities, Raytheon currently has offices in countries worldwide, including
Australia ,
Belgium ,
Brazil ,
Canada ,
Chile ,
China ,
Czech Republic ,
Egypt ,
France ,
Germany ,
Greece ,
India ,
Italy ,
Japan ,
Kuwait ,
Malaysia ,
Marshall Islands ,
Norway ,
Republic Of Korea ,
Singapore ,
Saudi Arabia ,
Spain ,
Sweden ,
Taiwan ,
Thailand ,
Turkey ,
United Arab Emirates , and the
United Kingdom .
cruise missile by Raytheon]]
Missiles still form a large part of Raytheon's business, including:
Additionally, Raytheon is a leading developer and manufacturer of
Radar s (including
AESAs ), electro-optical sensors, and other advanced electronics systems for airborne, naval and ground based military applications. Examples include:
Raytheon, oftentimes in conjunction with
Boeing ,
Lockheed Martin or
Northrop Grumman , is also heavily involved in the satellite sensor business. Much of its Space and Airborne Systems division in
El Segundo ,
CA is devoted to this, a business it inherited from
Hughes . Examples of programs include:
- The Space Tracking And Surveillance System ( STSS ), being developed for Ballistic Missile Defense. Raytheon is building the sensor payload.
Additionally, the El Segundo site is the company center of excellence for the development and production of Laser products.
In the framework of
Ground-Based Midcourse Defense , Raytheon develops a Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) which includes a booster missile and a
Kinetic Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV). The company also makes several
Software Radio and digital communication systems for military applications such as
Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC), is participating in
Navy-Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI),
ECHELON and the
Joint Tactical Terminal (JTT) programs.
Raytheon also manufactures
Semiconductor s for the
Electronics industry. In the late
20th Century it produced a wide range of
Integrated Circuit s and other components, but
As Of 2003 its semiconductor business specializes in
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) components for radio communications. It is also making efforts to develop
Gallium Nitride (GaN) components for next-generation radars and radios.
Another principal commercial product line is corporate
Jet Aircraft , which are sold under the
Beechcraft and
Hawker brand names. Raytheon currently manufactures just one military aircraft, the
T-6 Texan II .
,
Vern Clark ,
Ferdinand Colloredo-Mansfeld ,
John Deutch ,
Thomas Everhart ,
Frederic Poses ,
Warren Rudman ,
Michael Ruettgers ,
Ronald Skates ,
William Spivey , and
Linda Stuntz .
Since nearly all of Raytheon's revenues are obtained from defense contracts, there is necessarily a tight cooperation between Raytheon and the
U.S. Department Of Defense . This, along with heavy lobbying, has led to perennial charges of influence peddling. Raytheon contributed nearly a million dollars to various defense-related political campaigns in 2004, spending much more than that on lobbying expenses. And there are many tight ties between the company and all levels of government.
Richard Armitage , former United States Deputy Secretary of State, is linked to the company by consultancy work.
John M. Deutch , former U.S.
Director Of Central Intelligence , sits on the board of directors, along with
Warren Rudman , a former Senator.
Raytheon frequently has been involved in
Contract disputes with the
United States Government . In October of 1994, Raytheon paid $4 million to settle a U.S. government claim that it inflated a defense contract for antimissile radar. The
PAVE PAWS system was designed to detect incoming submarine-launched ballistic missiles. PAVE PAWS stands for Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased Array Warning System. The government claimed in a federal lawsuit that Raytheon inflated a contract to upgrade two of four PAVE PAWS sites by proposing to hire higher-skilled employees than were necessary for the job.
Just one year earlier, on
October 14 ,
1993 , Raytheon paid $3.7 million to settle allegations that it misled the
U.S. Defense Department by overstating the labor costs involved in manufacturing Patriot missiles. "The recovery of this money is yet another warning to contractors that the Truth in Negotiations Act's information disclosure requirements will be strictly and sternly enforced," Frank Hunger, assistant
Attorney General , said in a statement.
Allegations of , the acronym for "System for Vigilance over the
Amazon ," is a complex radar
Surveillance system for use monitoring the
Amazon Rainforest , allegedly to curb the trafficking of
Narcotics and to curb illegal
Logging or burning of the forest. Brazilian police wiretapped a telephone conversation between Gomes dos Santos, a special advisor to the Brazilian President
Fernando Henrique Cardoso , and Raytheon's operative in Brazil, Jose Afonso Assumpcão. According to transcripts published in the Brazilian Weekly ''
Isto É '', when Assumpcão told Gomes dos Santos that Brazilian Senator Gilberto Miranda might block the Raytheon contract, Gomes dos Santos responded, "Damn, did you already pay this guy?" Gomes dos Santos and Brazil's aviation minister resigned because of allegations that this conversation suggested that bribes were paid. Nonetheless, Raytheon ultimately was awarded the contract after
Lobbying by the administration of U.S. President
Bill Clinton .
In October of 1999, Raytheon was the subject of a number of securities
Class Action lawsuits alleging it had issued a series of materially false and misleading statements including overstating the company's 1997 and 1998 revenues, concealing cost overruns and inflating its financial results. The suits were brought in response to a massive drop in value of Raytheon's common stock as traded on the
New York Stock Exchange . On Tuesday,
October 12 ,
1999 , Raytheon shares were trading at about 45% below the level at which they had been traded on
October 11 ,
1999 . The plunge in stock prices was triggered by a
Wall Street Journal report that Raytheon was over cost or behind schedule on more than a dozen fixed-price defense contracts. This crash represented a loss of about $8 billion in market value in a single day. On
May 13 ,
2004 Raytheon reported that it had reached a preliminary agreement to pay $410 million in cash and securities to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging it misled investors by not disclosing difficulties on various Pentagon and construction projects five years before.
On April 24, 2006 in a statement released by Raytheon, CEO Swanson admitted to
Plagiarism in claiming authorship for his booklet, "Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management," after being exposed by
The New York Times .
6 On May 2, 2006, Raytheon withdrew distribution of the book.>
7
