TUCSON, Ariz., March. 21 -- Raytheon Company has been awarded $173.7 million by The Department of Defense (DoD) to produce Paveway II laser-guided bomb kits for the Air Force and the Navy. Work on the contract will be done primarily at Raytheon facilities in Tucson, Ariz., and Sherman, Texas. Other locations include Raytheon facilities in Andover, Mass.; McKinney, Texas; and Farmington, N.M. Raytheon, which has been producing the Paveway II system for nearly 27 years, is currently producing laser-guided bomb kits under DoD awards made in December 2001. Work on those contracts started in August 2002. During Operation Desert Storm, more than half the air-launched guided weapons were Paveways II or III. More recently, Paveway II was used in Operation Enduring Freedom, where nearly two-thirds of all carrier-based ordnance was Paveway Laser Guided Bombs. For more information, visit: www.raytheon.com