Defensive radars are in the business of saving lives.

Every moment of every day, they monitor the seas, skies and space for a range of threats including hostile enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

Though extremely sensitive and complex, modern sensors are built around a small number of components. The most critical of these are advanced microelectronics, also known as semiconductors, which serve as the brain cells of advanced defense systems. 

Trusted and capable microelectronics

Raytheon is charged with perfecting the assembly and integration of these building blocks – to rapidly deliver next-generation radars to track, identify and help counter national security threats. 

The United States and its allies need trusted and capable microelectronics for military applications and increasingly demanding commercial uses. We are committed to supporting both needs.

Gaining an edge with GaN

Raytheon leads the industry in its use of gallium nitride to make the high-power analog chips whose circuits transmit and receive radar signals. Gallium nitride, also known as GaN, is a glasslike material that offers key advantages over other materials in energy efficiency, weight and power output compared with other materials. It can, for example, conduct electrons 1,000 times more efficiently than silicon.

The business makes military-grade GaN at its Massachusetts foundry and has achieved U.S. Department of Defense Technology Readiness Level 9 for the innovative tech, which means it’s proven in successful mission operations and ready for deployment.

The proof is in the final product, from the smallest circuit all the way up to a fully assembled array in the field. 

Our sensors are vertically integrated to ensure readiness and resiliency from day one – key to maintaining a competitive advantage and protecting national security.

Innovating with “Advanced Technology”

The foundry works on targeted research and development and manufacturing technology with Advanced Technology, an elite team of innovators that partners with national defense innovation labs, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.

Advanced Technology’s microelectronic experts are inventing new microelectronics materials and processes that will power future generations of defense tech.