CANBERRA – 17 December 2008: Improvements to the Defence Materiel Organisation’s Company Scorecard program announced by the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement have been welcomed by one of the country’s largest defence companies, Raytheon Australia.

Raytheon Australia Managing Director, Ron Fisher, praised the changes that will provide defence companies with data that will allow them to compare their own performance against a Defence Industry benchmark.

“For the first time, defence companies will be judged on their own performance on a particular program, as well as being benchmarked alongside an aggregation of the top ten defence companies and an average of more than 60 in the industry,” Mr Fisher said.

“This benchmarking initiative announced by the Hon. Greg Combet MP will help Australian defence industry in its quest for continuous improvement which is something very important to Raytheon Australia. This will also help the ADF and will deliver better outcomes for the Australian taxpayer,” Mr Fisher said.

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With facilities located across the country, Raytheon Australia is a highly capable prime contractor with an engineering and technical workforce of 1300 backed by world-class management and quality systems. This local presence is bolstered by strong relationships with small and medium sized enterprises and access to the global resources of Raytheon Company.

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specialising in defence, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 86 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

Further information:
Gerry Wheeler
+61 439 501 327
gerard.wheeler@raytheon.com.au