Governor Warner Announces New Raytheon Facility at Modeling and Simulation Cluster in Suffolk

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today made six job announcements today totaling 834 new jobs across Virginia. Raytheon Company will open a new high-tech facility in the City of Suffolk that will provide computer modeling, simulation and imaging services for the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military services. The facility will be located in the Bridgeway Tech Center I office building in Bridgeway Commerce Park.

"Our administration's focus on the modeling and simulation industry was designed to stimulate exactly this kind of investment," said Governor Warner. "The available facility and proximity to the industry cluster in Hampton Roads made Suffolk the obvious choice. Raytheon's work for the U.S. and NATO military will help further establish Virginia as the center of military and government simulation activity in the United States."

When the Raytheon facility opens, it will initially occupy 22,000 square feet and employ 15 people. The company anticipates that the new facility will grow in size and employment.

In April 2005, Governor Warner announced the Virginia Modeling and Simulation Initiative (VIMSIM), an aggressive plan to promote growth in Virginia's high-tech modeling and simulation industry centered in the Hampton Roads region. The VIMSIM includes the creation of a state-of-the-art Emergency Management Training, Analysis & Simulation Center (EMTASC) with Old Dominion University and private contractors, devoted to the command and operations management side of homeland security training. The EMTASC will fuel Suffolk's modeling and simulation industry and the Governor's VIMSIM initiative.

"This is an important investment that enables us to be closer to our customers and bring them even more of our modeling and simulation capabilities," said Colin Schottlaender, president of Raytheon Network Centric Systems. "We thank Governor Warner, the State of Virginia and the City of Suffolk for their commitment to this important technology center, and we look forward to the tremendous progress we can make together."

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with 2004 sales of $20.2 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide. Network Centric Systems, based in McKinney, Texas, is one of Raytheon's major business segments and is a leader in providing network systems and netcentric integration to military, federal and civil customers worldwide.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Suffolk and the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance to secure the project for Virginia. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will support the project with training assistance through its Workforce Services Jobs Investment Program.

"We are fast becoming a modeling and simulation high-technology hub, and Raytheon is a welcome addition to our City," said Suffolk Mayor Bobby Ralph. "We believe that Bridgeway Commerce Park is the perfect fit for Raytheon's expansion, and we welcome the economic impact that will resonate throughout the entire Hampton Roads region."