By Tess Stynes
Raytheon Co. (RTN) plans to expand a Mississippi plant to
support expected growth in the defense company's airborne radar and
electronic warfare markets.
The company plans to expand its Forest, Miss., plan by 20,000
square feet and ultimately add 150 new jobs at the site. Raytheon
said the Forest plant already is one of the largest defense
manufacturing plants in Mississippi at 340,000 square feet.
Raytheon last month raised its full-year profit guidance, in a
recent sign of how U.S. defense contractors are riding out domestic
budget uncertainty. Third-quarter bookings of $5.7 billion lifted
its book-to-bill ratio to 97%, helped by notable wins in new radar
contracts from the U.S. Navy.
The Mississippi plant this year ramped up its fighter jet radar
production rates. In addition to fighter jet radars, the facility
makes the Sentinel air defense radar, with 57 additional ones in
production for the U.S. Army.
Shares were down 33 cents at $85.03 recently. The stock has
risen 48% this year.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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