Raytheon lands $1.7 billion contract

WALTHAM, Mass., June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. defense contractor Raytheon said Tuesday it had landed a $1.7 billion contract to upgrade Saudi Arabia's Patriot air and missile system.

The contract includes ground system hardware, a "full training package and support equipment upgrades," Raytheon said in a statement.

Raytheon said the work, which is "subject to customary U.S. regulatory approvals," would be performed at the Integrated Air Defense Center in Andover, Mass., and in Saudi Arabia.

Raytheon said it employs 72,000 people worldwide and had sales in 2010 of $25 billion.