Product Profiles

Last Updated: 08/19/2008*

The April 23, 2007, issue of Forbes magazine features a report on Raytheon’s Directed Energy technology. This feature story, Light Warfare by Matthew Swibel, provides a detailed look at how Raytheon, the world's largest provider of missiles, is using innovation and disruptive technology to reinvent and extend its missile business.

The story discusses developments in four key Directed Energy technology areas:

Quiet Eyes, a baseball-sized turret that can be mounted on combat helicopters, uses a laser beam to disrupt shoulder-fired missiles.

Vigilant Eagle creates a protective zone around airports to safeguard aircraft when they are at their most vulnerable – on take off and landing. Vigilant Eagle is based on a high-powered microwave beam that can be dispatched from a ground station to deflect shoulder-fired missiles away from aircraft.

The Laser Area Defense System (LADS) combines the capabilities of the 20-millimeter Phalanx weapon system with the power and effectiveness of lasers to provide fast, precise search, track and engage capabilities for directing laser energy on target, destroying mortars and other munitions in flight.

Silent Guardian uses millimeter-wave technology to stop, deter or repel adversaries threatening our forces or sensitive infrastructure.

To find out more about disruptive innovation at Raytheon, read an interview with Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, vice president of Corporate Engineering, Technology and Mission Assurance. Dr. Lawrence chairs Raytheon's Disruptive Technology Council.