Raytheon Awarded Contract for Radar

Defense contractor Raytheon Co. has been awarded a $350-million contract to provide the first radar in an effort to build a shield against ballistic missiles.

The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said the contract was aimed at obtaining a radar for testing by March 2005.

President Bush in December ordered the military to begin deploying land- and sea-based missile defenses in a fledgling system to help the United States protect against missile attack.