Design Feature: August 18, 1994

As defense spending continues to shrink, Raytheon Co, among other large defense contractors, is scrambling to expand its defense technology into the commercial market. The Clinton administration calls this effort "defense reinvestment," but it also goes by the names "conversion," "diversification," and "dual use."

No matter which buzzword you choose, though, the administration hopes that the reinvestment effort will provide a major boost to the US economy. Toward that end, in 1991 the government initiated the Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP), a $575-million federal-grant program under the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The TRP, which provides as much as 50% of the funding for selected defense-conversion programs, recently chose Raytheon's Electromagnetic Systems Division for a defense-conversion grant to develop commercial uses for military telecommunications technology.

As leader of the $18.4-million project, Raytheon (Lexington, MA) will oversee the development of four broadband digital telecommunications prototypes during the next two years. According to the company, the technology will provide 10 times the performance of current commercial communications equipment. Its potential applications include computer networks, high-definition TV, and aircraft avionics.

In addition to the grant, Raytheon has many other irons in the reinvestment fire; areas of diversification include satellite communications, air- and vessel-traffic control, air safety, automated vessel alert, personal rapid transit (PRT), infrared (IR) imaging, telemedicine, automated highway systems, and high-speed rail systems.

Last month, the company won a $1-billion contract with Brazil to build the Amazon surveillance system (SIVAM) in the Amazon rain forest. Brazil will use the system, which will draw heavily on the company's military telecommunications and satellite technology, to monitor drug and mineral smuggling, protect tribes, reduce deforestation and decimation of wildlife, and improve communications in remote areas.

In another project, Raytheon has exploited its military expertise to become a major participant in Iridium Inc's satellite-based personal-communications-system project (see box, "Communicating by satellite"). In the first extensive commercial application of a space-based phased array, Raytheon will provide the main mission antennae of the satellite.

Communicating by satellite

Part of Raytheon's defense-reinvestment straTEGY is its role in Iridium Inc's satellite-based personal-communications network, called Iridium. The network calls for a satellite-launch schedule to begin in 1997, with commercial service beginning in 1998. As a major subcontractor, Raytheon is part of Iridium Inc, a recently formed corporation comprising 13 international investors, including US participants Lockheed, Motorola, and Sprint. Raytheon will develop the main mission antennae for the satellites, and Motorola will develop and produce the satellites at its Satellite Communications Division (Chandler, AZ). Motorola holds a 27.25 share of Iridium. Among the other participants in the project are contractors for launching the satellites. The project's multiple launchers include McDonnell Doug- las Delta 2 rockets, each carrying five satellites; Khrunichev Enterprise Proton rockets, each carrying seven satellites; and China Great Wall Industry Corp Long Mach IIc rockets, each carrying two satellites. According to Iridium Inc spokesman John Windolph, the name "Iridium" comes from the periodic table of the elements. Because the project originally called for 77 satellites, it was called Iridium, after the 77th element on the table. However, Raytheon's improvement of the antennae's signal power effected a reduction in the number of satellites to 66. (The 66th element on the table is Dysprosium, hardly an alluring name, especially from a marketing standpoint, Windolph says.) Bob François, program manager for the Iridium main-mission antenna in Raytheon's Wayland, MA, facility, says that Raytheon effected a tenfold increase in signal strength by reducing to three the number of planar phased-array antennae from the original prototype's seven and by making the antennae substantially larger--each measuring about 34×74 in. Resembling a honeycomb, a phased-array antenna contains hundreds to thousands of independently radiating elements. The antennae steer the satellite's beam by controlling the phase at each radiating element. Another signal-enhancing technique was to increase the antennae's gain, or focusing power, thus increasing the power density on the ground. Raytheon increased the number of spot beams, or cells, per satellite footprint--the flashlight-beam-like circle that is focused onto the ground. The satellites now incorporate 16 spot beams per antenna for a total of 48 spot beams per satellite footprint--up from the original prototype's 37. The company also improved the system's link margin--the theoretical minimum bit-error-rate requirement--from 9 dB in the original version to 16 dB (vs the 3 dB standard in other communications systems). All these improvements yielded a higher signal quality that allows users of the system to access it under trees, inside automobiles, and inside and behind buildings. The Iridium network will comprise a "constellation" of 66 1500-lb satellites--each incorporating 2000 of Raytheon's monolithic microwave ICs--in low Earth orbit, about 420 nautical miles above the Earth. Compared with geostationary communication satellites 22,300 nautical miles above the Earth, the low orbit of the satellites will allow the satellites to project more tightly focused beams onto the ground, ensuring strong signals and high-quality communications. The low orbit will also minimize echo and allow for a small-enough antenna on the subscriber unit for users to carry the device in their pockets. The satellites will operate on six orbital planes, with 11 operational satellites and one on-orbit spare per plane. Iridium will permit any type of telephone transmission--voice, data, fax, or paging--to reach its destination anywhere on Earth at any time. The subscribers units transmit voice at 4.8 kbps and data at 2400 baud through digital facilities to communicate with any other telephone in the world. The telephones feature QPSK modulation with frequency-division/ time-division multiple access. Unlike conventional telecommunications networks, the system will track a telephone handset's location, providing global transmissions even if the subscriber's location is unknown. Once a user activates an Iridium telephone, the nearest satellite automatically determines account validity and the user's location. The subscriber selects either cellular or satellite transmission alternatives, depending on compatibility and system availability. If a cellular system is not available, the dual-mode telephone communicates directly with a satellite overhead and transfers the call from satellite to satellite through the network to its destination--either another Iridium telephone or an Iridium ground station. Gateways interconnect the satellite network with land-based fixed or wireless communications. Gateways interface with public switched telephone networks and with the Iridium constellation. The communications links are L-Band for Iridium telephone communication and Ka-Band for intersatellite links, gateways, and feeder-link connections. Applications for Iridium include providing workers the ability to stay in contact with offices continents away, service for developing nations without telecommunications infrastructures, communications for rescue and supply efforts during natural disasters, and personal use. Demand for these services is on the rise, according to a June 1993 report by the US International Trade Commission. The report predicts that the worldwide market for personal communications will account for annual revenues of up to $60 billion by 2000. The commission also forecasts that the number of subscribers will reach 150 million.

Although conversion is not always easy--and, in some cases, may even fail--the Iridium project makes good use of the company's established experience as a defense contractor, according to Bob François, program manager for the Iridium main mission antenna in Wayland, MA. "In this case," says François, "conversion was relatively straightforward because we had all the technical expertise in place, and we had one customer," unlike in commercial ventures when companies typically have to seek multiple customers.

But there were challenges in the Iridium project. "With the government, you do business under a set of rules not always the most cost-effective. With Iridium, we had to be cost-effective," states François. "You don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water, though," he cautions. Thanks to its extensive experience in careful parts selection and screening to meet military requirements, Raytheon was able to meet the high-quality requirements of space hardware. Most commercial hardware does not require such high standards, François says. After all, anything you launch into space--or into battle--should be top-quality. Another reason for careful parts selection and screening is the tremendous investment Iridium represents.

Two other aspects made conversion easy. First, the phased-array antenna for Iridium is the same type of antenna Raytheon employs in its PAVE PAWS radar that watches for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Second, the antennae will employ Raytheon's monolithic microwave ICs (MMICs), which the company produces at its Advance Device Center (Andover, MA), to generate and receive microwave signals. These MMICs are the same type of chip Raytheon uses in its Patriot missile system and its ground-based radar for defense against tactical ballistic missiles.

In addition to the Iridium project, Raytheon has shipped approximately 125,000 commercial MMIC down-converters for TV satellite receivers and has contracts to develop the chips for wireless LANs.

Defense radar controls air traffic

Air- and vessel-traffic control are other areas in which Raytheon has made significant use of conversion. As developer of the magnetron--the heart of radar--the company is diversifying its defense-related radar technology for use in air-traffic control and air safety. Last year, the company received two contracts from the National Airports Authority of India and two from the civil aviation authority of Oman. The Indian projects include radar, navigational aids, displays, and air-traffic control. The Omani contracts are for automation equipment, displays, and primary and secondary radar systems.

In the United States, the company is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Advanced Automation Systems project. As such, it will provide as many as 7500 color air-traffic-control consoles and as many as 2300 displays for airport-control towers. The company also has completed the preliminary design of a Category II/III Microwave Landing System for the FAA.

In air safety, the company is applying its terminal Doppler weather radars (TDWRs) in airports nationwide. The TDWRs will warn air controllers of sudden wind shifts, such as microbursts, which analysts blame for air accidents, especially during takeoffs and landings.

Using the same military radar, the company has contracted with the US Coast Guard's vessel-traffic services (VTS). Under terms of the contract, VTS will use Raytheon's automated dependent surveillance system in Prince William Sound, AK. The system uses global-positioning-system satellites and marine radars to provide information on marine traffic within the 4000-sq-mile sound.

In addition to radar, Raytheon is employing its military sonars in commercial products. For example, in cooperation with Coastal Corp, Houston, Raytheon has built the first production prototype of the Avert automated vessel-alert system. The system will prevent tankers and other commercial ships from hitting rocks and reefs.

IR imaging is another area in which Raytheon is parlaying its expertise in defense into commercial use. IR imaging uses differences in heat to "see" objects, a key ability of advanced defense systems. The company has developed the Radiance 1 IR camera for commercial applications, such as night surveillance, nondestructive testing, and medical imaging. The camera looks like and weighs about the same as a video camera. Because Radiance 1 can detect differences in temperature as small as 0.045&176;F, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) employed the device to track the Space Shuttle Endeavor when the shuttle was more than 200 miles away and during a night landing.

NASA also employed Raytheon's IR technology in 1994 on the spacecraft Clementine. The Raytheon IR imaging equipment gathered data about the moon and a new asteroid. In addition, Raytheon has developed and fabricated an IR focal-plane array that mimics the function of the human eye. This "neuromorphic" device has potential applications in motion detection.

In another area of conversion, telemedicine, Raytheon is exploiting its expertise in developing telecommunications networks for the military. The company has entered a joint venture with renowned heart surgeon Dr Michael E DeBakey and Interactive Telemedical Systems. The group has introduced the Medtel system, which allows medical specialists to examine and diagnose patients anywhere in the world. The system will have access to the Texas Medical Center, which encompasses five universities and 14 major hospitals treating 3.6 million patients.

Medtel will seem like a virtual-reality environment, allowing doctors to use electronic stethoscopes, to examine patients' eyes and ears, and to analyze X-rays and pathology smears as if the patient were physically present. Ray- theon's contribution will include information-processing technology, tele- communications systems, project management, and infrastructure development. The company will also provide training and maintenance services for the Medtel network and client organizations. Potential applications include prenatal sounding, newborn examinations, and preventive checkups for the elderly in remote rural locations; emergency trauma diagnosis and treatment advice in accidents and natural disasters; screening of candidates from developing areas for costly travel to distant medical centers for treatment; and responding to possible medical emergencies aboard space stations.

Planes, trains, and automobiles

In an effort to diversify into the commercial transportation business, Raytheon is addressing three areas: PRT, automated highways, and high-speed rail. The company recently won a contract with the Northeastern Illinois Regional Transportation Authority to develop and demonstrate a PRT system. The authority plans to install the system in Rosemont, IL, to alleviate automobile traffic. The system will include 45 vehicles on 3 miles of dedicated steel "guideways" elevated on slender pylons. The PRT system will connect hotels, office buildings, the O'Hare Expo Center, and the River Road Transit System via small vehicles seating one to four people. The vehicles will depart on demand and each will carry its own switching system, eliminating the need for conventional and potentially hazardous in-track switches.

Before developing the Rosemont system, Raytheon will demonstrate a three-vehicle model of the system at the company's Marlborough, MA, facility. The Seattle-Tacoma, WA, transit authority is also considering installing a Raytheon PRT system, which the company claims will be a safe, convenient, and affordable alternative to other forms of transportation.

In addition, Raytheon late last year received a $1.8-million contract from the US Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. Under terms of the contract, Raytheon will study, design, and demonstrate a vehicle/roadway system. The goal is to provide more efficient use of highways by relieving congestion, increasing the number of vehicles traveled per lane mile, and improving air quality. Under the contract, Raytheon and Ford Motor Co's Electronics Division (Dearborn, MI) will act as primary contractors for analyzing tradeoffs, safety concerns, and other issues.

In diversifying into the high-speed rail arena, Raytheon has joined ABB Traction Inc--part of a global company serving the power-generation, industrial, and transportation markets--in a competitive proposal for Amtrak. If the companies win the contract, they will build 26 high-speed X2000 trains for Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington. ABB Traction in cooperation with Swedish State Railways developed the train, which has been operating in Sweden for three years. Raytheon proposes to manufacture and assemble control electronics, components for the train's tilting coaches, and steerable undercarriages, or "trucks," and to design and build food-service cars for the trains.

The company has also signed a teaming agreement with Kinki Sharyo USA Inc (Wellesley Hills, MA) to bid for the production of 100 light rail vehicles for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA's) Green Line. The vehicles, which will feature low floors to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, will replace a fleet delivered to the MBTA in the late 1970s.

Dual-use technology lets defense contractors share technology between their defense and commercial segments. Raytheon's Beech Aircraft Division is producing both the Beechjet 400A business jet and its military derivative, the US Air Force T-1A Jayhawk trainer on a common production line. This technique helps keep costs down--not just for Raytheon, but also for the military. Raytheon benefits because it avoids having duplicate production areas for nearly identical processes. When differences do occur, employees use tooling to accommodate them. The military benefits because it avoids having to use its resources for basic aircraft development and certification. Further, dual use reduces the risk involved in developing new aircraft and gives the Air Force the modifications it needs to meet its training standards.

By the end of 1993, Beech had delivered 61 Jayhawks to Reese, Randolph, and Laughlin Air Force Bases, and from the initial contract in 1990 until the end of last year, the Air Force has ordered 148 aircraft worth $628 million from Beech. The US program potential is 180 trainers. In addition, Beech has completed manufacturing and certifying three T400 jet trainers for the Japan Air Self Defense Force for undergraduate training of transport search-and-rescue pilots.

To transform the business jet into a military trainer, Raytheon had to modify the commercial cockpit from the two side-by-side positions to a three-position configuration to accommodate a pilot, a copilot/instructor, and an observer. The company also rearranged the cockpit to provide more room for military crews to change positions easily. Additional modifications include cabin-mounted avionics for easier access and maintainability, increased air conditioning for extended training periods, single-point refueling with the ability to permit short turn times and long training missions, and increased protection from striking birds, which happens more frequently at the sustained high speeds and low altitudes of military training sessions.

Despite the differences, the two jets are similar enough to share an assembly line and move through the same production areas, including detail-parts manufacturing and subassembly. Beech also produces another business aircraft, the Super King Air B2000 business turboprop, and its military "twin," the RC-12, on a common assembly line.

The company made another move into dual use with its announcement in June that it plans to produce flat-panel displays for both military and commercial use. The company joined a consortium, which also includes Futaba Corp, Pixel International, and Texas Instruments, to manufacture field-emission displays in the United States.

According to William H Swanson, senior vice president and general manager of the company's Missile Systems Division, the field-emission displays will compete head-on against active matrix LCDs. He claims the field-emission displays offer significant advantages in cost, brightness, and power efficiency. Field-emission displays appear as ¼-in.-thick glass plates that will replace TV picture tubes in aircraft instruments, air-traffic control-tower monitors, and industrial displays.

Not abandoning defense

Despite all the hype about conversion, though, Raytheon and its competitors do not plan to desert their defense business. Indeed, many defense contractors prefer the term "diversification" to "conversion," according to Iridium Inc spokesman John Windolph.

"They don't want to put all their eggs into one basket," he says. "To many, conversion implies an abandonment of their military business."

Raytheon's 1993 annual report backs Windolph's assertion. It lists the company's goals: "to further strengthen established commercial operations, to stay strong in defense, to diversify core defense technologies into commercial markets, and to maintain a strong balance sheet." After all, for defense--and commercial--contractors, a strong balance sheet is the bottom line.