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"Things are
progressing well. We've overcome a lot of the challenges, but
there are still some in front of us," David Wajsgras, president
of Raytheon's Intelligence, Information and Services business,
told Reuters at the Farnborough International Airshow.
Wajsgras said Raytheon would continue to work closely with the
U.S. Air Force to ensure the success of the program, which is
facing a "live or die" Pentagon review after breaching critical
cost thresholds earlier this year.
He said Raytheon had put its best resources and people to work
to resolve the program's issues.
"I would put us as cautiously optimistic," Wajsgras said. "We
feel good about the progress we've made."
Defense Undersecretary Frank Kendall told reporters this week
that Raytheon's work on the program was "a mixed bag", showing
progress in some areas but continuing problems in others. He
said he still hoped Raytheon could get the program under control
since it was critically needed.
Air Force Secretary Deborah James on June 30 declared the
program had breached congressional cost thresholds, triggering a
mandatory review that could lead to the program's termination.
The review will conclude in October, but Kendall told reporters
it would be "very disruptive" to stop the program at this point
and start over.
The Pentagon earlier this year said the estimated cost of
Raytheon's Operational Control System (OCX) had risen 16.3
percent, or $586.4 million, to $4.2 billion in 2015, even before
a two-year delay that would further inflate costs.
The new estimated cost was not immediately available. The
program was expected to cost just $1.5 billion when Raytheon won
the contract in 2010.
The Air Force said Raytheon had briefed its progress on process
improvements, including increased automation in software
development, platform deployment, and other changes in their
software approach at a deep dive review last week.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Potter)
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