Raytheon Begins Production of Airborne Hyperspectral Sensor for U.S. Air Force

RAYTHEON COMPANY MQ-1 PREDATOR ACES HY is a unique sensor system that will be placed on an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft system. (PRNewsFoto/Raytheon Company) PARIS, FRANCE

PARIS, June 19, 2011 /PRNewswire

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to produce the first airborne tactical hyperspectral sensor system.

The Airborne Cueing and Exploitation System Hyperspectral, also known as ACES HY, is an infrared sensor system developed to identify targets based on their spectral characteristics.

In September 2010, Raytheon worked with the Air Force to successfully complete flight testing of ACES HY on a manned Twin Otter aircraft used as a surrogate for the MQ-1 Predator unmanned system.

"A solid partnership with the Air Force enabled rapid development and fielding of this hyperspectral system," said Tim Carey, vice president, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems for Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. "It supports our customer with low-risk technology built on generations of successful Raytheon electro-optical infrared sensor systems. And we're committed to delivering reliable systems that keep our customers safe and help them achieve mission success."

As the prime systems integrator for ACES HY, Raytheon leads team members L3 Integrated Optical Systems and Space Computer Corporation in the effort. The ACES HY Program is managed by the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

Raytheon also manufactures the MTS family of sensor solutions, which recently marked more than 1 million hours of operational flight time.