WOBURN - Raytheon's much-heralded Missile Defense Center officially opened in Woburn at 225-235 Presidential Way yesterday amidst a lot of pomp and circumstance and a promise to be there for many years.

With 1,100 employees, Raytheon is now Woburn's largest employer.
The dedication of the rambling facility puts Woburn dead center in the middle of the United States' defense against incoming missiles.

"This facility will house all the programs and systems we have in our tool box," said Vice President of Missile Defense Programs Richard Yuse. "We will refine, test and solve problems to our customers satisfaction."

Guests came from as far away as Japan and as close as Canada to the opening.

Located in the old Genuity building, Raytheon is situated critically just south of the Wilmington line and just east of Reading just off I-93. Some 700 of the 1,100 people will come from the long-standing Bedford facility that will be officially closed at the end of the year and from Tewksbury.

Technically the Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), Raytheon is a major contractor to the U.S. government with many of its highly-technical personnel trained at MIT, Worcester Polytech and California Polytech College. For many, the Woburn location means just a change in job sites, not mission. But, these workers are now in an ultra-modern, highly-functional plant vacated by Genuity two years ago.

Formed in August 2002, the IDS is Raytheon's leader in missile systems integration. Four majorprograms are now underway at the Woburn offices.

With a strong international and domestic customer base, it was pointed out, the customers include the U.S. armed forces with integrated solutions for air, surface and subsurface battlespace.

Based in Tewksbury, IDS has more than 2,200 active programs in over 25 countries with 11,000 employees.