New $31M Raytheon contract calls for development of light-speed defense weapon
Dec 23, 2023, 5:00 AM
Raytheon is set to start working on defensive high-power microwave antenna systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, depicted in this rendering. (Raytheon)
(Raytheon)
Raytheon’s Tucson-based missiles and defense division has won a $31.3 million contract to create a futuristic mobile front-line system to stop airborne threats with directed energy.
The three-year contract from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division calls for Raytheon — a division of Virginia-based defense contractor RTX (NYSE: RTX) — to design, build, test and deliver prototype systems for the U.S. Navy and Air Force.
The project will include high-power microwave antenna systems, which Raytheon said will take down threats at the speed of light with directed energy.
The U.S. Office of Naval Research defines directed energy weapons as electromagnetic systems that can convert chemical or electrical energy into radiated energy that is focused on a target. They include high energy lasers and high power microwaves.
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