Raytheon
Raytheon, an RTX business, is a leading defense technology company providing advanced missile systems, space-based sensors, and ground systems for missile warning and defense.
- Founded
- 1922
- Headquarters
- El Segundo, United States
- Ownership
- Subsidiary of RTX Corporation
Quick Facts
About Raytheon
Raytheon, an RTX business, is a leading defense technology company providing advanced missile systems, space-based sensors, and ground systems for missile warning and defense. With over 100 years of technology development, Raytheon delivers integrated solutions across land, air, sea, and space domains.
In September 2024, Raytheon delivered its first Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) sensor payload to prime contractor Lockheed Martin, keeping the U.S. Space Force's first GEO Block 0 missile warning satellite on track for 2025 initial launch capability. Two Next-Gen OPIR GEO satellites will provide continuous mid-latitude coverage, with Raytheon designing and building sensor payloads for both satellites.
In May 2024, Raytheon's advanced FORGE MDPAF ground system became operational at the Space Force's Overhead Persistent Infrared Battlespace Awareness Center. This modular framework processes satellite data from both the existing Space Based Infrared System constellation and future Next-Gen OPIR systems, enabling fast integration of mission-focused applications to process, exploit, and disseminate information from space-based sensors.
Raytheon operates a 49,000 square-foot Space Systems Operations facility in Tucson, Arizona, where technicians, engineers, and operators develop, test, and assemble highly precise defensive weapons known as kill vehicles that track and defeat ballistic missiles in space. In April 2024, Raytheon was awarded a $344 million contract for SM-2 Block IIICU and SM-6 Block IU missile development. The company continues advancing space-based missile warning and defense technologies.
Products and product lines
| Product | Line | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Canyon Technologies (until 2026 divestiture) | Small satellite manufacturing | Boulder, Colorado small-satellite and bus manufacturer that Raytheon Technologies acquired on December 22, 2020; RTX's Raytheon business agreed to sell it to MDA Space for US$620 million in an agreement announced June 19, 2026. |
| Collins Aerospace ISS spacesuit / life-support development (discontinued) | Crewed spaceflight hardware | Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, held part of NASA's roughly $3.5 billion Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) contract (awarded 2022, alongside Axiom Space) to develop new ISS and lunar spacesuits; Collins and NASA mutually agreed to descope the ISS suit task order on June 26, 2024 after the effort fell behind schedule. |
| NORSSTrack space domain awareness software | Space situational awareness | Raytheon UK software used by orbital analysts to map and track satellites, monitor collision risk and debris, and assess re-entries; underpins a UK Space Agency contract announced November 4, 2025 for analysts based at the National Space Operations Centre, RAF High Wycombe. |
| Next-Gen OPIR GEO Block 0 sensor payloads | Missile-warning satellite sensors | Raytheon designed and built both Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared GEO Block 0 sensor payloads for prime contractor Lockheed Martin; delivered the second payload on April 28, 2026, following the first in September 2024. |
Timeline
- 2020 Raytheon Technologies completes its acquisition of small-satellite manufacturer Blue Canyon Technologies of Boulder, Colorado, on December 22. [source]
- 2022 NASA awards Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, part of its roughly $3.5 billion xEVAS contract alongside Axiom Space, including about $97 million in initial funding to develop a new ISS spacesuit. [source]
- 2024 Collins Aerospace and NASA mutually agree on June 26 to descope the ISS spacesuit task order under xEVAS after the development program fell behind schedule, leaving Axiom Space as the primary remaining ISS-suit developer. [source]
- 2025 Raytheon UK is awarded a UK Space Agency contract, announced November 4, to provide orbital analysts using its NORSSTrack software in support of the UK's Space Domain Awareness mission. [source]
- 2026 Raytheon delivers the second Next-Gen OPIR GEO Block 0 missile-warning sensor payload to Lockheed Martin on April 28. [source]
- 2026 MDA Space announces a definitive agreement on June 19 to acquire Blue Canyon Technologies from RTX's Raytheon business for US$620 million. [source]
Team
- Phil JasperPresident, Raytheon (RTX) · source
Signals
- Verification
- Verified 2026-09-10
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Frequently asked about Raytheon
Quick answers to the questions readers most often search for.
- When was Raytheon founded?
- Raytheon was founded in 1922 in United States.
- Where is Raytheon headquartered?
- Raytheon is headquartered in El Segundo, United States.
- What does Raytheon do?
- Raytheon, an RTX business, is a leading defense technology company providing advanced missile systems, space-based sensors, and ground systems for missile warning and defense. With over 100 years of technology development, Raytheon delivers integrated solutions across land, air, sea, and space domains. In September 20…
- Is Raytheon a public or private company?
- Raytheon is a privately held company and is not listed on any stock exchange.
- What sector does Raytheon operate in?
- Raytheon works in defense, Satellite manufacturing and Sensors.
Sources
The structured fields on this page (founding year, location, sector, status, listing) and the profile text are drawn from the sources below. How profiles are drafted and checked is described in our methodology.
- Official website (www.rtx.com/raytheon/what-we-do/space)
- GLEIF LEI record · retrieved 2026-09-05
- Wikipedia: Blue Canyon Technologies (citing SpaceNews, 22 Dec 2020 acquisition) · retrieved 2026-09-10
- Yahoo Finance/Reuters: RTX's Collins in talks to drop ISS spacesuit contract with NASA · retrieved 2026-09-10
- Yahoo Finance: Raytheon UK awarded UK Space Agency contract (4 Nov 2025) · retrieved 2026-09-10
- Yahoo Finance: RTX's Raytheon delivers second missile-warning sensor (28 Apr 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-10
- MDA Space: MDA Space Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire US-Based Blue Canyon Technologies LLC (19 Jun 2026) · retrieved 2026-09-10
- SEC 10-K: RTX Corporation (FY2025) · retrieved 2026-09-10
- RTX: Our Leadership · retrieved 2026-09-10
Data Accuracy Notice: Information about Raytheon is compiled from publicly available sources including company websites, press releases, regulatory filings, and industry reports. Data is reviewed periodically but may not reflect the most recent developments.