Raytheon News
Raytheon enjoys a unique position in the aerospace and defense industry that allows it thrive even when the economy isn't doing well. It's insulated from the general economy because of its large share of the commercial aerospace business, and because US Defense priorities rely on it being able to conduct grueling, high-touch R&D at the speed necessary for success in a world with great power rivalries.
For example, the defense industry is in a unique position to benefit from a transformational trend that is set to transform the way nations defend themselves against great-power conflict, and that has the potential to be a game changer for US military priorities and commercial aerospace demand. In times of market turmoil, Raytheon is a great company to look at.
The President Biden's visit to Ukraine could boost stock prices
Before Russia invaded Ukraine last month, the White House approved the sending of the Patriot missile system to Kyiv. Although the battle in Ukraine was symbolic, future Raytheon clients will see a strong indicator that Raytheon's products are capable of protecting their countries against attack.
That could be a good thing for Raytheon in the long run, especially because a successful deployment to Ukraine would mean a significant increase in defense spending by the nation-states that purchase its wares.
This could be a catalyst for a faster rise in RTX stock market prices as nation-states who are looking to overhaul their arsenals try to find weapons that have been successfully used on the battlefields occupied by war-torn states. This level of battlefield effectiveness is important in a world where countries are trying to retool their armies and refocus them more on diplomacy and non-confrontational police and diplomacy than on the kind of combat that has been waged by warring superpowers over centuries.
Drones are a significant new threat to air- and missile defense capabilities. This is another transformative shift. Drones are extremely maneuverable and small. Drones are very difficult to detect, both by conventional air and missile-defense system as well as ground sensors.
Fortunately, Raytheon has developed drone-defense radars that can track these stealthy and elusive weapons of war. The V3 radar of Raytheon is currently part the Navy's Ford class aircraft carrier and will be activated later in the year.
It is also developing V2 or V3 versions to its SPY-6 Radar, which will eventually be mounted on future destroyers. The SPY-6's four radar faces will be integrated with the ships' Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) systems, which are managed by Lockheed Martin.
This makes it one among the most complex and sophisticated radars the military ever saw, and a key element to its overall effectiveness. Mills stated that Raytheon continues to work on plans to install this system on all carriers built by HII over the next five-years, despite the difficulties.