Raytheon facility addition will support growth in electronic warfare systems

Raytheon Company completed a 20,000-square foot addition to its factory in Forest, Miss., already one of the biggest in the state. The extra room will allow the company to support anticipated growth in airborne radar and electronic warfare systems.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a ribbon-cutting ceremony: "The company chose to expand here in anticipation of future growth, and now Raytheon is ready to move ahead and pursue even more opportunities and contracts."

Raytheon plans to add a number of new positions over time to keep pace with orders for its Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) fighter jet radars and Sentinel air defense radars. The company is the only manufacturer with combat-proven AESAs in production for tactical aircraft.

New satellite communications antenna for B-2 stealth bomber

In a demonstration conducted May 23, Northrop Grumman proved that a new antenna it has developed for the B-2 can establish and maintain communications services with an on-orbit Air Force Advanced EHF (AEHF) communications satellite.

The new active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna and EHF satellite communications system would allow the B-2 to send and receive battlefield information significantly faster than its current satellite communications system.

"Our demo marks the first time that AESA antenna technology has been used to communicate with the AEHF network," said Byron Chong, Northrop Grumman's B-2 deputy program manager. During the test, he added, Northrop Grumman successfully demonstrated extended data rate (XDR) communications between the AESA antenna and the AEHF satellite at EHF frequencies. XDR communications take advantage of the AEHF satellites' most advanced, most secure signaling protocols and communication waveforms.

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