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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2003 WWW.USDOJ.GOV |
AT (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 |
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES RAYTHEON COMPANY AND DRS TECHNOLOGIES INC. TO MODIFY AGREEMENT ON INFRARED SIGHTS
FOR MILITARY VEHICLES
U.S. Government Military Vehicle Infrared Sight Programs
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- The Department of Justice announced today that Raytheon Company and DRS Technologies Inc. agreed to modify their proposed agreement on infrared sights for military vehicle programs to alleviate the Department’s antitrust concerns. The Department said that the teaming agreement, as originally proposed, raised significant competitive concerns with respect to the development and production of sights for future programs.
The proposed teaming agreement would have resulted in Raytheon and DRS jointly producing a type of infrared sight that has already been selected for existing Marine Corps and Army programs, as well as in the development and production of sights for future programs, including the Battalion Combat Team Mobile Gun System (BCT MGS) and the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV).
The Department’s Antitrust Division informed Raytheon and DRS that it had significant concerns with the agreement’s application to future programs, including AAAV and BCT GMS. In response to the Division’s competitive concerns, Raytheon and DRS agreed to modify the teaming agreement so that it would not apply to future programs. The Division said that the current programs would not be affected by the teaming agreement because the benefits of competition for these programs have already been obtained.
R. Hewitt Pate, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, said that “the modification of the proposed teaming agreement helps to preserve competition and to ensure continued innovation by the companies that produce night-vision technologies. These technologies are vital to the success of the nation’s ground forces and to the safety of our country.”
The Department of Justice and Department of Defense worked closely together throughout the investigation of the teaming agreement to preserve competition and innovation for future infrared sight programs.
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