AEROSPACE & DEFENSE

Raytheon Wins $1-Billion Contract: Raytheon Co. announced that its missile systems division has been awarded a $1.03-billion contract to provide Saudi Arabia with Patriot missiles and associated equipment. The order, described as one of the largest foreign military sales in the company’s history, “is important because it maintains a production base for a system that is critical for the defense of the U.S. and its allies,” said William H. Swanson, senior vice president and general manager of Raytheon’s missile systems division in Bedford, Mass. The Patriot missile, a defensive weapon, was praised during the Gulf War, but some experts later questioned the military’s claims about its success. The missile is designed to track and destroy enemy aircraft and cruise missiles.