Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitalization. In addition, it is one of the largest providers of intelligence services.[3] Raytheon Technologies manufactures aircraft engines, avionics, aerostructures, cybersecurity, guided missiles, air defense systems, satellites, and drones. The company is also a large military contractor, getting a significant portion of its revenue from the U.S. government.[4][5]
The company is the result of the merger of equals between the aerospace subsidiaries of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and the Raytheon Company, which was completed on April 3, 2020. Before the merger, UTC spun off its non-aerospace subsidiaries Otis Elevator Company and Carrier Corporation. UTC is the nominal survivor of the merger but it changed its name to Raytheon Technologies and relocated its headquarters to Waltham, Massachusetts.[2][6] Former UTC CEO and chairman Gregory J. Hayes is Chairman and CEO of the combined company.[7]
The company has four subsidiaries: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense.[2]
On June 7, 2022, the company announced plans to move its global headquarters to Arlington, Virginia.[8] The move was completed in July.[9]
Raytheon Company
The Raytheon Company was founded in 1922 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Laurence K. Marshall, Vannevar Bush, and Charles G. Smith as the American Appliance Company.[10] Its focus, which was originally on new refrigeration technology, soon shifted to electronics. The company’s first product was a gaseous (helium) rectifier that was based on Charles Smith’s earlier astronomical research of the star Zeta Puppis.[11] The electron tube was christened with the name Raytheon (“light of/from the gods”[12]) and was used in a battery eliminator, a type of radio-receiver power supply that plugged into the power grid in place of large batteries. This made it possible to convert household alternating current to direct current for radios and thus eliminate the need for expensive, short-lived batteries.
In 1925, the company changed its name to Raytheon Manufacturing Company and began marketing its rectifier, under the Raytheon brand name, with commercial success. In 1928, Raytheon merged with Q.R.S. Company, an American manufacturer of electron tubes and switches, to form the successor of the same name, Raytheon Manufacturing Company.[citation needed] By the 1930s, it had already grown to become one of the world’s largest vacuum tube manufacturing companies.[citation needed] In 1933 it diversified by acquiring Acme-Delta Company, a producer of transformers, power equipment, and electronic auto parts.
During World War II, Raytheon mass manufactured magnetron tubes for use in microwave radar sets and then complete radar systems. At war’s end in 1945, the company was responsible for about 80 percent of all magnetrons manufactured. During the war, Raytheon also pioneered the production of shipboard radar systems, particularly for submarine detection. Raytheon ranked 71st among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.[13] In 1945, Raytheon’s Percy Spencer invented the microwave oven by discovering that the magnetron could rapidly heat food. In 1947, the company demonstrated the Radarange microwave oven for commercial use.
After the war, Raytheon developed the first guidance system for a missile that could intercept a flying target. In 1948, Raytheon began to manufacture guided missiles, including the SAM-N-2 Lark, the air-to-air AIM-7 Sparrow, and the ground-to-air MIM-23 Hawk missiles. In 1959, Raytheon acquired the marine electronics company Apelco Applied Electronics, which significantly increased its strength in commercial marine navigation and radio gear, and changed its name to Raytheon Company.
During the post-war years, Raytheon also made generally low- to medium-powered radio and television transmitters and related equipment for the commercial market. In the 1950s, Raytheon began manufacturing transistors, including the CK722, priced for and marketed to hobbyists. Under the direction of Thomas L. Phillips in 1965, it acquired Amana Refrigeration, Inc., a manufacturer of refrigerators and air conditioners. Using the Amana brand name and its distribution channels, Raytheon began selling the first countertop household microwave oven in 1967 and became a dominant manufacturer in the microwave oven business.
In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, Raytheon’s Patriot missile received great international exposure, resulting in a substantial increase in sales for the company outside the United States. In an effort to establish leadership in the defense electronics business, Raytheon purchased in quick succession Dallas-based E-Systems (1995); Chrysler Corporation’s defense electronics and aircraft-modification businesses, and the defense unit of Texas Instruments, Defense Systems & Electronics Group (1997). Also in 1997, Raytheon acquired the aerospace and defense business of Hughes Aircraft Company from Hughes Electronics Corporation, a subsidiary of General Motors, which included a number of product lines previously purchased by Hughes Electronics, including the former General Dynamics missile business (Pomona facility), the defense portion of Delco Electronics (Delco Systems Operations), and Magnavox Electronic Systems.[14] Raytheon also divested itself of several nondefense businesses in the 1990s, including Amana Refrigeration and Seismograph Service Ltd (sold to Schlumberger-Geco-Prakla).
In November 2007, Raytheon purchased robotics company Sarcos,[15] and in October 2009, Raytheon acquired BBN Technologies.[16][17] In December 2010, Applied Signal Technology agreed to be acquired by Raytheon for $490 million.[18]
In October 2014, Raytheon beat rivals Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for a contract to build 3DELRR, a next-generation long-range radar system, for the US Air Force worth an estimated $1 billion.[19] The contract award was immediately protested by Raytheon’s competitors. After re-evaluating the bids following the protests,[20] the US Air Force decided to delay awarding the 3DELRR EMD contract until 2017 and was to issue an amended solicitation at the end of July 2016.[21] In 2017 the Air Force again awarded the contract to Raytheon.[22]
In May 2015, Raytheon acquired cybersecurity firm Websense, Inc. from Vista Equity Partners for $1.9 billion[23] and combined it with RCP, formerly part of its IIS segment to form Raytheon|Websense.[24] In October 2015, Raytheon|Websense acquired Foreground Security, a provider of security operations centers, managed security service solutions[buzzword] and cybersecurity professional services,[25] for $62 million.[26] In January 2016, Raytheon|Websense acquired the firewall provider Stonesoft from Intel Security for an undisclosed amount and renamed itself to Forcepoint.[27]
In July 2016, Poland’s Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz planned to sign a letter of intent with Raytheon for a $5.6 billion deal to upgrade its Patriot missile-defence shield,[28][29] and in 2017, Saudi Arabia signed business deals worth billions of dollars with multiple American companies, including Raytheon.[30][31]
In February 2020, Raytheon completed the first radar antenna array for the US Army’s new missile defense radar, known as the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS), to replace the service’s Patriot air and missile defense system sensor.[32]