Tomahawk missile maker Raytheon and United Technologies merge to create US aerospace and defence giant
- Raytheon makes missiles – including the Patriot system – and cybersecurity tools
- United Technologies makes products for the aerospace and building sectors, including plane engines and spacesuits
Raytheon and United Technologies announced on Sunday that they will merge in a deal that creates one of the world’s largest defence companies, worth about US$121 billion.
The new company, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, will be created via an exchange of shares between the two firms, with the merger expected to conclude in the first half of 2020, they said in a joint statement.
“The transaction will create a premier systems provider with advanced technologies to address rapidly growing segments within aerospace and defence,” the statement said.
The combined company would be the second-largest US aerospace company, behind Boeing.
Raytheon is best known for its Patriot air defence systems, which gained fame during the first Gulf war, and its Tomahawk cruise missiles, often the first weapons fired from US Navy ships in recent conflicts.
United Technologies (UTC) is a big player in the aeronautics industry with its Pratt and Whitney engines, which are used in civil and military aircraft.
