Farnborough 2012 : Raytheon Signs JV for Saudi Work

Raytheon and Saudi Arabian company Pannesma have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to develop a company in the kingdom to develop C4I capabilities.


The agreement for the JV was signed during the Farnborough International Airshow on 10 July and, according to the company, demonstrates Raytheon's 20-year support of Saudi Arabia and aims to provide 'more capable aerospace and defence systems'. 


'The establishment of the joint venture allows Raytheon and Pannesma to provide [the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] with reliable and capable aerospace and defence systems while building on our community involvement in terms of job creation and educational opportunities,' Dan Crowley, president of Raytheon Network Centric Systems, said in a statement.

The JV is expected to be finalised by the end of this year. 


Meanwhile, Raytheon also announced at the show on 12 July that Selex Elsag had awarded an £8.5 million five year contract to Raytheon UK to provide a third tranche of Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogator units for the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.


Under the agreement, which follows on from the first and second tranches, Raytheon UK will produce 116 kit parts, the company said. 


Fifty-eight of these will be integrated with Selex kit parts and then tested and delivered as full interrogator units, while the remaining 58 will be delivered as kits for Selex to integrate into its IFF interrogator units.

'Over the past ten years Raytheon UK's collaboration with Selex Elsag has resulted in a regular throughput of IFF units which are designed to help Eurofighter aircraft pilots to recognise friend from enemy during operations,' Richard Daniel, MD of Raytheon UK’s defence business, said in a statement.


'Our extensive skills experience in the manufacture and supply of IFF systems to over 40 platform types for air, land and sea applications position us for further collaborative business relationships now and in the future.'