Raytheon expands its presence in Poland

This latest effort aims to increase Poland’s land force capability with such products as Excalibur, a precision-guided, extended-range projectile that uses GPS guidance to hit targets. “There are opportunities with Polish industry for Excalibur production and co-development, and we want to explore them further,” said Raytheon's Ed Thomas, Land Warfare Systems senior manager of business development. The Netherlands Ministry of Defense will add Excalibur Ib artillery rounds to its arsenal this year, becoming the second European nation after Sweden to procure the precision-guided projectile. “Excalibur is proven with nearly 800 firings in combat,” said Mark Hokeness, Raytheon’s Excalibur program director. “It’s the longest-range, most precise, cannon-fired projectile in production, and we see an increase in global demand for this kind of capability.” Beyond Excalibur, other areas of potential Polish cooperation include products for the country’s new attack helicopter, a next-generation anti-armor weapon, as well as thermal sensing and targeting technologies. “Raytheon has already signed eight contracts and 33 letters of intent with Polish industry,” said John Baird, vice president of Raytheon Poland programs. “By partnering with Polish companies, Raytheon can help improve Poland’s already capable defense industry.”