Tag: Raytheon Intelligence & Space

Raytheon awarded FAA contract to upgrade WAAS to dual-frequency

WAAS makes airports without ground-based navigation available to pilots. (Photo: Raytheon)

WAAS monitors and evaluates all GPS signals over North America to enable pilots to fly using augmented GPS data for precision landing and enroute navigation

Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, has been awarded a competitive indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract from the Federal Aviation Administration with a ceiling value of $375 million over the next 10 years.

Task orders, valued at $215 million, were executed at contract award to provide technical refresh and dual-frequency operation (DFO) upgrades to the FAA’s Wide-Area Augmentation System (WAAS) to provide safer air travel in support of the National Airspace System.

WAAS monitors and evaluates all GPS signals over North America to enable pilots to fly using augmented GPS data for safety-of-life missions such as precision landing and enroute navigation. The system allows pilots to safely land in places previously inaccessible because of the airport location or weather. It also makes airports without ground-based navigation available to pilots.

Under the WAAS DFO-2 contract, Raytheon will deliver more modern, and therefore sustainable, processing, system security, and network architecture, while also adding dual-frequency service.

“There is no margin for error during take-off, flight or landing,” said Denis Donohue, president, Surveillance & Network Systems at Raytheon Intelligence & Space. “Our modernization effort for WAAS will improve system robustness during ionospheric events and ensure safety-of-life requirements continue to be met.”

WAAS is a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) that provides GPS corrections for critical navigation for the aviation community, first responders and other government agencies, ensuring pilots can land safely in austere environments, despite weather challenges. It also provides corrections for SBAS-capable receivers in use across a diverse set of communities, including agriculture, maritime and surveying, among others.

Raytheon Technologies has been the prime development contractor for WAAS since 1996. Since reaching initial operational capability in 2003, Raytheon and the FAA have developed and fielded dozens of enhancements expanding WAAS’ precision approach capability, coverage area, and reliability, including improvements to the system infrastructure in preparation for dual-frequency service.

WAAS dual-frequency service will enable increased system accuracy, integrity and availability when subject to ionospheric perturbations, including solar storms. Work for this effort is based in Fullerton, California.

September 17, 2022
Raytheon to continue supporting US Air Force geospatial intelligence

An MQ-9 Reaper on patrol. (Photo: Lt. Col. Leslie Pratt)

Contract to provide geospatial intelligence, infrastructure support and training for the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System

Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S), a Raytheon Technologies business, has been awarded a five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to continue geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) system mission support and training for the U.S. Air Force’s Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS).

Under the DCGS GEOINT Field Support contract, RI&S will provide mission support and engineering services for the current DCGS weapon-system baseline as well as partnering with the Air Force to facilitate the transition to an open architecture.

Open architecture will enable DCGS to more readily integrate data from the intelligence community and commercial providers, with the goal of using artificial intelligence to create multi-intelligence analysis.

DCGS draws in data from airborne sensors aboard the RQ-4 Global Hawk, Mq-1 Predator, MQ-9 Reaper and other intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms all over the globe.

Under the contract, RI&S will leverage its mission domain knowledge to ensure high mission availability to support end-to-end operations, from mission planning for an airborne sensor to data collection, processing and data discoverability for the DCGS Analysis Exploitation Teams in support of theater and National Command Authority.

May 18, 2022
Raytheon swarm enables one operator to guide 100+ drones

Raytheon BBN-led team recently supported DARPA’s fifth OFFSET program field exercise. (Photo: Raytheon)

Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, recently supported the fifth OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) DARPA program field exercise.

Using integrated swarm technology developed by a Raytheon BBN-led team, a single operator successfully controlled a swarm — composed of 130 physical drone platforms and 30 simulated drone platforms — both indoors and outdoors in an urban setting. Raytheon BBN provides advanced technology research and development with a focus on national security priorities.

During the exercise, the team used a combination of commercial off-the-shelf and custom-built hardware and software to deliver swarm autonomy. This enabled a single or small group of operators to direct and manage the activities of a large swarm of autonomous air and ground vehicles with minimal training.

“Controlling a drone swarm changes the way an operator or group of operators think about the drones,” said Shane Clark, Raytheon BBN OFFSET principal investigator. “Takeaways from this exercise help inform us of the inflection points between utility and manageability.”

Inexpensive Hardware

A key element of the program is the use of inexpensive hardware. Without the powerful computing and sensing capabilities available in larger more expensive platforms, Raytheon BBN needed to create a broad library of simple tactic building blocks used to create plans to accomplish mission objectives.

Raytheon BBN also designed and configured a scalable, modular and decentralized approach to manage a variety of current and future platforms and missions. Whenever possible, the drones collaborate actively to decide how to accomplish a specific mission most efficiently.

“Our software is smart enough to assign drones with the right capabilities to the appropriate set of tasks,” Clark said. “For example, if the task is to surveil a building, multiple drones will be dispatched, with each surveilling portions of the building. The software considers each platform’s sensor capabilities, and tasks drones with downward-facing cameras to surveil the roof.”

Once the drones are deployed, their collaboration allows them to understand what parts of a building have been explored and where the gaps are. They then autonomously select how to fill in those gaps.

Virtual Reality Interface

To tackle the complexities of human swarm interfaces, the Raytheon BBN team created a virtual reality interface in addition to traditional camera views. It takes feeds from all the swarm assets to create an interactive virtual view of the environment.

“You can look behind the building to access a view of drone locations, for example, and use the virtual reality environment to test and see if your mission is viable,” Clark said. “We also developed a speech interface with the operationally deployed Tactical Assault Kit, or TAK, integration capability that enables the operator to act quickly while maintaining situational awareness over many systems simultaneously.”

The Raytheon BBN-led team includes Smart Information Flow Technologies, or SIFT, and Oregon State University. The team is contracted by DARPA to demonstrate its swarm capabilities during Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment 2022 taking place in February to March, and hosted by the Army Maneuver Battle Lab.

January 10, 2022
Raytheon Intelligence & Space delivers 3,000th GPS receiver

Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, delivered its 3,000th MAGR 2000-S24 GPS system to the U.S. Air Force. The MAGR2K is a secure, resilient GPS receiver that allows the warfighter to navigate the battlespace with protection against interference and jamming.

The MAGR2K is an upgrade to the legacy miniaturized airborne GPS receivers and is in service aboard 20 types of fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms from Department of Defense and Foreign Military Sales customers.

“In the battlespace, disruptions to navigation are not an option,” said Eric Ditmars, vice president of Secure Sensor Solutions at RI&S. “Our MAGR2K GPS receivers enhance GPS acquisition and performance ensuring military forces reliable and assured GPS data they can act on. Delivery of the 3,000th unit is a significant milestone for our team.”

Raytheon Intelligence & Space continues to upgrade the MAGR2K technology to stay current with the evolving battlespace. Development is underway for the MAGR-2K-M, which uses the company’s M-code technology.

The first production readiness units are undergoing platform integration on the U.S. Air Force’s B-2 platform.

B-2 Spirit multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions. In December 2017, the Air Force completed a series of successful flight tests of M-code GPS using a Raytheon Company receiver on board a B-2 Spirit at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (Photo: U.S. Air Force/Bobby Garcia)

February 16, 2021
SMC awards 3 agreements for modernized GPS handheld

SMC awards multiple rapid prototyping agreements for joint modernized GPS handheld device; four demonstrations to be held

The Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) in use in 2011. (Photo: U.S. Army)

On June 26, the United States Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center awarded three separate rapid prototyping agreements to Collins Aerospace, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and the Technology Advancement Group for a total of $41.1 million.

The firm-fixed price agreements are for the development of a basic working prototype of the joint modernized GPS handheld device. The contract provides the government with innovative solutions demonstrated via hardware and software prototype development.

The purpose of this rapid prototyping effort is to produce a joint modernized handheld smaller in size with low power consumption, increased military-code capability, and improved anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities compared to the equipment now used by the military.

4 demonstrations coming

This is the second competitive objective under the current Phase I strategy and is the result of a down-select from five to three vendors. It builds off the first objective of Phase I, which focused on mock-ups and drawings.

These agreements provide for four demonstrations to be held with Army and Marine Corps representatives. The demonstrations give the end users an early opportunity to provide feedback and the ability to influence the final design — ultimately making for a more seamless transition to operations.

“This is the first major update to the military’s GPS handheld device in more than 15 years,” said Col. Clifford Sulham, User Products Division chief. “The advanced capabilities of this device will allow our airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines to conduct operations in GPS-challenged environments.”

July 9, 2020
United Technologies and Raytheon complete merger
Raytheon Technologies Corporation announced the successful completion of the all-stock merger of equals transaction between Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation on April 3, following the completion by United Technologies of its previously announced spin-offs of its Carrier and Otis businesses.

Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Raytheon Technologies is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the world with approximately $74 billion in pro forma 2019 net sales and a global team of 195,000 employees, including 60,000 engineers and scientists.

Raytheon Company shares ceased trading prior to the market open on April 3, and each share of Raytheon common stock has been converted in the merger into the right to receive 2.3348 shares of United Technologies common stock (previously traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “UTX”).

Upon closing of the merger, United Technologies’ name has changed to “Raytheon Technologies Corporation,” and its shares of common stock will begin trading today on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “RTX.” United Technologies shareowners will continue to hold their shares of United Technologies common stock, which now constitute shares of common stock of Raytheon Technologies Corporation.

Raytheon Technologies has a large, talented workforce to address the rapidly evolving needs of customers globally. The combined company expects to introduce breakthrough technologies at an accelerated pace across high-value areas such as hypersonics, directed energy, avionics and cybersecurity.

In addition, Raytheon Technologies has a strong balance sheet and cash flows to support critical business initiatives, including company and customer-funded R&D.

“Raytheon Technologies brings together two companies with combined strengths and capabilities that make us uniquely equipped to support our customers and partners during this unprecedented time. We will also play our part in the war on the COVID-19 pandemic, including doing everything we can to keep our employees around the globe safe and well,” said Greg Hayes, CEO of Raytheon Technologies. “As we move forward, Raytheon Technologies will define the future of aerospace and defense through our focus on innovation, our world-class people and our financial and operational strength to create long-term value for our customers and shareowners.”

“Today, we introduce Raytheon Technologies as an innovation powerhouse that will deliver advanced technologies that push the boundaries of known science,” said Tom Kennedy, executive chairman of Raytheon Technologies. “Our platform-agnostic, diversified portfolio brings together the best of commercial and military technology, enabling the creation of new opportunities across aerospace and defense for decades to come.”

Structure and Leadership

Raytheon Technologies has four market-leading segments focused on high-priority areas for
customers. (Note: 2019 net sales are prior to intercompany eliminations.)
- Collins Aerospace Systems specializes in aerostructures, avionics, interiors, mechanical systems, mission systems and power controls that serve customers across the commercial, regional, business aviation and military sectors. The segment is led by President Stephen Timm, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with approximately $26 billion in 2019 net sales.
- Pratt & Whitney designs, manufactures and services the world’s most advanced aircraft engines and auxiliary power systems for commercial, military and business aircraft. The segment is led by President Chris Calio, headquartered in East Hartford, Connecticut, with approximately $21 billion in 2019 net sales.
- Raytheon Intelligence & Space specializes in developing advanced sensors, training, and cyber and software solutions — delivering the disruptive technologies its customers need to succeed in any domain, against any challenge. The segment is led by President Roy Azevedo, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with approximately $15 billion in pro forma 2019 net sales.
- Raytheon Missiles & Defense provides the industry’s most advanced end-to-end solutions to detect, track and engage threats. The segment is led by President Wes Kremer, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, with approximately $16 billion in pro forma 2019 net sales.
Raytheon Technologies’ executive leadership team is comprised of Tom Kennedy, executive chairman, Greg Hayes, chief executive officer, and Toby O’Brien, chief financial officer. Additional leadership biographies are available on the company’s website.

Raytheon Technologies Investor Call

Raytheon Technologies will hold an investor call to discuss United Technologies and Raytheon Q1 results on May 7 at 8:30 a,m. The call details will be provided prior to the results announcement, and the call will be webcast on the Raytheon Technologies investor relations website.
April 7, 2020