The Air Force awarded Raytheon $45.5 million for the service’s Fiscal 2005 procurement of Paveway II laser guided bomb kits. The Paveway kits transform conventional bombs into precision guided weapons and were successfully deployed on 8,700 bombs dropped in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.