August 10, 2005 - Raytheon Company has delivered its 25,000th AN/PAS-13 Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS) to U.S. Army officials from Program Executive Office Soldier as part of a production ramp-up to serve "urgent" needs in the Middle East, the company said today.

In 2004, the Army asked Raytheon to double its production rates from 400 to 1,050 units per month and deliver more than 10,000 new TWS systems. The delivery milestone announced today marks the success of the 17-month production ramp-up to accelerate of the urgently needed equipment to U.S. warfighters, Raytheon said in a company news release.

Jointly developed by the U.S. Army and Raytheon, the Army's AN/PAS-13 program comprises a family of advanced thermal imaging sensors that improves soldiers' surveillance, targeting and combat effectiveness day or night, in zero illumination, and in obscurants such as fog, smoke, dust and sandstorms.

Based on infrared technology, Raytheon said the TWS family allows U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Special Operations Forces to "own the night."

Raytheon is the only government-qualified supplier of AN/PAS-13 light, medium, and heavy weapon sights.

"What is important is the greatly enhanced capabilities the Thermal Weapon Sight gives our soldiers. It is the newest technology that allows our forces, both day and night, to have unparalleled capability to 'see the battlefield,'" said Maj. Gen. Mike Taylor, 36th Infantry Division commanding general. "These devices significantly improve the protection of our soldiers and their ability to accomplish their missions. I personally witnessed the effectiveness of these sights during a visit to my soldiers in Iraq."

For the accelerated delivery schedule, Raytheon expanded its facilities, collaborated with suppliers to reduce turnaround time, met the ramp-up target ahead of schedule, and said it can now deliver more than 1,000 weapon sights per month.

"Delivery of these critically needed thermal weapon sights will help our soldiers continue to fight the global war on terrorism, complete their missions safely and return to their families unharmed. It doesn't get more important than that," Glynn Raymer, vice president of Raytheon Combat Systems, said.