The Raytheon Company was a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics.

The company's first product was a gaseous (helium) voltage-regulator tube that was based on Charles Smith's earlier astronomical research of the star Zeta Puppis.

[citation needed] In 1933 it diversified by acquiring Acme-Delta Company, a producer of transformers, power equipment, and electronic auto parts.

[citation needed] Early in World War II, physicists in the United Kingdom invented the magnetron, a specialized microwave-generating electron tube that markedly improved the capability of radar to detect enemy aircraft.

[14] During the post-war years, Raytheon also made generally low- to medium-powered radio and television transmitters and related equipment for the commercial market, but the high-powered market was solidly in the hands of larger, better-financed competitors such as Continental Electronics, General Electric and Radio Corporation of America.

In the late 1970s, Raytheon acquired McGraw-Edison's appliances division notable for the Speed Queen line of washers and dryers.

In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, Raytheon's Patriot missile received great international exposure, resulting in a substantial increase in sales for the company outside the United States.

Their office, being 6 floors above where United Airlines Flight 175 collided with the building, was spared from the immediate collision, but was utterly destroyed in the subsequent collapse of the South Tower.

[21] In October 2014, Raytheon beat rivals Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for a contract to build 3DELRR, a next-generation long-range radar system, for the USAF worth an estimated $1 billion.

After re-evaluating the bids following the protests,[23] the USAF decided to delay awarding the 3DELRR EMD contract until 2017 and was to issue an amended solicitation at the end of July 2016.

[25] In May 2015, Raytheon acquired cybersecurity firm Websense, Inc. from Vista Equity Partners for $1.9 billion[26] and combined it with RCP, formerly part of its IIS segment to form Raytheon|Websense.

[29] In July 2016, Poland's Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz planned to sign a letter of intent with Raytheon for a $5.6 billion deal to upgrade its Patriot missile-defence shield.

[30][31] In 2017, Saudi Arabia signed business deals worth billions of dollars with multiple American companies, including Raytheon.

The company was allowed to pay only half the fine to the government and to put half of the fine toward “remedial compliance measures to strengthen RTX’s compliance program.”[42] In October 2024, RTX agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to settle allegations of defrauding the U.S. Defense Department and bribing a Qatari military official.

[46] Other current and former members of the board of directors of Raytheon were: Vernon Clark, James E. Cartwright, John Deutch, Stephen J. Hadley, George R. Oliver, Frederic Poses, Michael Ruettgers, Ronald Skates, William Spivey, and Linda Stuntz.

Raytheon is a developer and manufacturer of radars (including AESAs), electro-optical sensors, and other advanced electronics systems for airborne, naval and ground based military applications.

Examples include: Raytheon, often in conjunction with Boeing, Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman, is also heavily involved in the satellite sensor business.

Examples of programs include: As part of the company's growing homeland security business and strategic focus, Raytheon has teamed with other contractors to develop an Advance Spectroscopic Portal (ASP) to allow border officials to view and identify radioactive materials in vehicles and shipping containers more effectively.

The UK arm specialized in CMOS on silicon carbide (SiC) development and foundry work but is no longer taking on new orders, having been on the premises for 57 years.

These include: Two lawsuits were filed against a Raytheon Company plant in St. Petersburg, Florida, due to concern with health risks, property values, and contamination in April 2008.

According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the groundwater contained carcinogenic contaminants, including trichloroethylene, 1,4-dioxane, and vinyl chloride.

[55] According to DEP documentation, Raytheon has tested wells on its site since 1996 but had not delivered a final report; therefore, it was given a deadline on May 31, 2008, to investigate its groundwater.

[53] Contamination in the area has not affected anyone's drinking water supply or health, yet due to negative local media coverage lawsuits are being filed with claims against Raytheon citing decreases in property values.

[57] The EPA further required the installation and operation of an oxidation process system to treat the solvents and make the water safe to drink.

[57] On 9 August 2006, The Stream Contact Centre in Derry, Northern Ireland, which had a contract with Raytheon at the time, was attacked by protesters.