HISTORY13 - Missile Systems in Tucson

The missile systems business in Tucson can be traced back to the manufacturing of drill bits in Texas at the beginning of the last century.  In 1908 the Hughes Tool Company was established in Houston, Texas by Howard Hughes, Sr. to produce bits for oil drilling rigs.  Upon the senior Hughes death in 1924, his son Howard Hughes, Jr. took over the company and in 1932 formed Hughes Aircraft Company in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company.  The eccentric aviator/industrialist/movie producer moved Hughes Aircraft to nearby Burbank in 1946 and steadily expanded the company into the production of fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, electronics, and guided missiles.  By the early 1950s, Hughes Aircraft Company was one of America’s largest aerospace companies and defense contractors.

Howard Hughes, Jr. in the cockpit of the Spruce Goose, circa 1947.  (Courtesy of wordpress.com)

Hughes Aircraft Company - Missile Plant (1951-1972)

In January 1951, during the Korean War, apparently feeling that his Pacific coast production facilities were vulnerable to potential enemy attack, Howard Hughes bought 2,431 acres of land south of the Tucson Municipal Airport from the Tucson Airport Authority to build a manufacturing plant to produce the Falcon, the world’s first air-to-air guided missile.  Hermans Road was immediately cleared from Nogales Highway to the job site - along the boundary line that separated Hughes property from airport property.  Construction of the plant started in February 1951.

Starting on July 16, 1951, while sections of the plant were being completed, Hughes’ first Tucson employees began training for manufacturing, assembly, and testing of aircraft electronics in a renovated warehouse on the west side of the airport.  The missile plant opened in November 1951. 

Tucson's Hughes Aircraft Missile Plant in September 1951.  Looking southwest.  (Courtesy of the Arizona Daily Star)

The federal government had recently instituted a policy of owning newly built defense plants, while allowing private enterprises to operate them, so by the end of 1951, the Tucson plant had been sold to the U.S. Air Force, as Plant 44, with Hughes Aircraft Company as operator.  (The Air Force continues today as owner of a substantial portion of Raytheon Missile System’s main plant property.)

The first Falcon missile was delivered to the Air Force on September 29, 1952.   Improved versions of Falcon were produced through 1965 (52,000 missiles total).  Employment grew steadily throughout the 1950s, to 5,700 in 1957, but dipped to 1,300 in 1965 after Falcon production ended. 

AIM-4 Falcon missile at Hill Air Force Base Museum.  (Courtesy of wikimedia)

In 1953 Howard Hughes donated Hughes Aircraft Company to the newly formed Howard Hughes Medical Institute, allegedly as a way of avoiding personal taxes on HAC’s huge income.  The mission of HHMI was biomedical research, invention of medical instruments, and financial support for medical universities.  This unique private ownership situation, outlasting the death of Howard Hughes in 1976, would sustain until 1985 when General Motors bought Hughes Aircraft.  This was a period of booming growth for Hughes Aircraft, including missile operations, because, in the words of D. Kenneth Richardson, HAC resident from 1990-1991, “it isolated us from the profit and dividend demands of public stockholders, allowing much greater operating flexibility and the pursuit of long term objectives.”

As production increased in Tucson in the 1950s, the company expanded its airport-site footprint.  In 1954 a Final Assembly and Check Out Facility was built about a mile southeast of the production plant.  Hughes leased airport land north of Hermans Road to build a large warehouse in 1957 and two engineering and laboratory buildings in 1960.  Hughes Access Road was constructed around 1955-56, defining the (then) southern boundary of the Hughes property.

Hughes Aircraft Company continued to develop new guided missiles for production in the Tucson plant.  Between 1969 and 1972, Hughes introduced the Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) missile for the Army, the Phoenix long-range missile defense system for the U.S. Navy, and the Maverick air-to-surface missile for the Air Force and Navy.

Hughes Missile Systems Group (1972-1992)

In 1966 Hughes Aircraft Company established an engineering development center in Canoga Park, California.  In 1972 the Canoga Park facility and the missile plant in Tucson, together, became the Hughes Missile Systems Group, a unit of Hughes Aircraft Company.  Employment in Tucson had increased to 3,100.

The two divisions engineered and produced improved versions of TOW and Phoenix, as well as additions to the Maverick family.  In 1981 the company started development of the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile deployed by the both the Air Force and Navy.  In 1989 the 500,000^th TOW was delivered to the U.S. Army.

AIM-12A AMRAAM missile at the Smithsonian Museum.  (Courtesy of National Air and Space Museum)

These programs helped the missile production plant in Tucson reach its highest employment to date of 9,000 employees in 1986. 

In 1984, according to D. Kenneth Richardson, President of the Missile Systems Group from 1983-1988, Government inspectors faulted the manufacturing quality of missiles in the Tucson plant.  Changing the Tucson plant manager, Richardson voluntarily shut down all production for three weeks and assigned literally everyone at the plant “to find and remedy any production flaws.” “Outstanding improvements resulted in every product,” with many of the altered approaches applicable to manufacturing of HAC products at other sites.

In 1985 General Motors bought Hughes Aircraft Company from HHMI for $5.2 billion and paired it with its Delco Electronics unit to form Hughes Electronics Corporation, a subsidiary of General Motors.  At the time, HAC was made up of seven groups:  Industrial Electronics, Ground Systems, Space & Communications, Radar Systems, Electro-Optical & Data Systems, Missile Systems, and Training and Support.  There were no significant product line changes or changes to operational upper management.  According to Group President Richardson, “GM did not impose specific financial goals on Hughes,” and “allowed Hughes to operate in its traditional innovative free-will spirit.”  So the Missile Systems Group was essentially unchanged. (HHMI continues successfully today in its biological and medical research, and science education endeavors that have the potential for transformative impact.)

In 1991 the Missile Group’s Tucson employment dropped to 5,500 as the defense budget declined and production levels were reduced.

Hughes Missile Systems Company (1992-1997)

In 1992 Hughes Aircraft Company purchased General Dynamics’ missile businesses in San Diego, California (generally offensive missiles) and Pomona, California (generally defensive missiles) for $450 million and committed an additional $300 million to relocate engineering and manufacturing functions and employees to Tucson.  Hughes also decided to close the Canoga Park engineering development center and bring those jobs to Tucson, altogether, bringing more than 2,500 families to southern Arizona. 

This acquisition brought into the Hughes missile portfolio the family of land attack and anti-ship Tomahawk cruise missiles, including strategic and conventional warfare variants, launched from submarines, ships, and land; the air-to-ground strategic Advanced Cruise Missile; the Standard Missile family of ship-defense and anti-air warfare weapons; the man-portable air defense Stinger Missile; the Sparrow Missile family of air-to-air and ship-defense weapons; the Phalanx Close-in (ship-defense) Weapon System; and the ship-defense Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM). 

The greatly expanded business in Tucson was reborn as Hughes Missile Systems Company.

AGM-129A Advanced Cruise Missile in flight.  (Courtesy of globalsecurity.org)

In 1993 the growing Tucson enterprise leased additional facility space at the former IBM site at Rita Road (later became UA Science & Technology Park).  Also in 1993, the Hughes Missiles Systems Company won an award for the Lightweight Exoatmospheric Projectile, paving the way for missile defense systems capable of intercepting warheads in space.

By 1994 Tucson employment had risen to 8,000.

Raytheon Missile Systems (1997-2019)

In 1997 the Raytheon Company, headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, bought the defense-related segments of Hughes Electronics Corporation, including the Hughes Aircraft Company, with subsidiary Hughes Missile Systems Company, from GM, for $9.5 billion.  

This was the beginning of the end for the Hughes Electronics Corporation.  By 2003, GM had sold the remaining segments of Hughes Electronics to Boeing (spacecraft design and manufacturing) and News Corporation (DirectTV). In 2007 News Corporation spun off Hughes Communications as an independent company that was acquired by EchoStar in 2011.  Today EchoStar provides a high-speed satellite internet service called HughesNet.

Raytheon brought two missile systems of its own to the acquisition party:  the medium range surface-to-air HAWK system and the long range surface-to-air Patriot ballistic missile defense system.  

Also in 1997, Raytheon acquired the defense unit of Texas Instruments, bringing into the fold five additional missile system programs:  Sidewinder, a short range air-to-air missile; Paveway, a laser-guided air-to-surface weapon; High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile, an air-to-surface weapon; the man-portable Javelin anti-tank weapon; and the Joint Standoff Weapon, a low cost, air-to-ground glide weapon, under development in 1997 and operational since 1998.

Once again the Tucson missiles operation was reborn - this time as Raytheon Missile Systems.  Louise Francesconi, who led Hughes Missile Systems beginning in 1996, became President of Raytheon Missile Systems, retaining her position until her retirement in July, 2008.

In 2004 Raytheon delivered the 250,000^th Paveway laser guided bomb.

From 1997, RMS continually developed improvements to the existing solid base of missile systems, adding capabilities and missions, creating several families of weapon systems that continue to serve the nation today.  Examples of expanded mission capability systems include an advanced surface- or submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missile with loitering and network communications capability; the Joint Standoff Weapon family of air-to-ground weapons that employ an integrated GPS/inertial navigation system to guide the weapon to the target; the Paveway family of laser and GPS precision guided munitions; the Standard Missile family of products, now with capabilities for sea- and land-based defense against ballistic missiles; and the Evolved Sea Sparrow family of missiles protecting ships against cruise/ballistic missile threats.

Major new programs developed since 1997 include:  the Excalibur guided artillery round; the light weight modular precision-guided Griffin air-to-surface missile; the Miniature Air-Launched Decoy-Jammer to deceive and degrade air defenses; the Coyote unmanned aerial system for reconnaissance and anti-UAV missions; StormBreaker, an air-to-ground glide weapon to engage moving targets in adverse weather and through battlefield conditions, currently in final operational testing; the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, the interceptor component of a ground based anti-ICBM system, currently in development; and the DeepStrike Missile, a surface-launched tactical long range precision system capable of attacking moving targets on land and sea, currently in development.

Also, Raytheon Missile Systems collaborates with several foreign companies, including Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defensive Systems on several layered air-defense missile systems; Norway’s Kongsberg Gruppen on the Joint Strike Missile for air-launched anti-ship applications and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System; and Raytheon Emirates in the United Arab Emirates, on the TALON surface-launched, low cost, high precision weapon for missions in urban environments.

In addition to these major programs, Raytheon Missile Systems conducts research on next generation missile systems, hypersonic weapons, non-kinetic kill mechanisms, space applications, undersea warfare, and collaborative-weapons technologies.

Taylor Lawrence became RMS President in July 2008 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 2019.  Wes Kramer took over as current RMS President in March, 2019.

Today, Raytheon has more than 40 buildings on the airport site, dedicated to manufacturing, engineering, program developments, and administration. 

Over the years, Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson has needed to find off-airport-site locations to conduct its expanding business. In addition to the Rita Road site, the company has several other local small sites in Tucson.

To provide room for possible Raytheon Missile Systems future expansion at the airport site, in 2015 Pima County relocated Hughes Access Road about a half mile to the south and renamed it Aerospace Parkway.  That move provides several hundred acres of new land as a “buffer zone” for Raytheon to buy or lease in the future, as needed.

Raytheon Missile Systems also has a number of remote sites that contribute to the company’s success and growth, including major U.S. operations in Huntsville, Alabama (Standard Missile variants production); East Camden, Arkansas (assembly of Patriot launchers and missiles); Sacramento, California (engineering design); Louisville, Kentucky (manufacture of Phalanx Close In Weapon System); Albuquerque, New Mexico (directed energy); Farmington, New Mexico (warehousing of missile parts); Dallas, Texas (component manufacturing) and Richardson, Texas (optics manufacturing). The company also has international operations in Midland, Canada (Precision Optics), Harlow, England (complex weapon systems); Glenrose, Scotland (weapons sub systems); and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Air and Missile Defense). 

These operations, including those in Tucson, conduct business in a number of plants, laboratories, warehouses and office facilities. According to Raytheon’s 2018 Annual Report, as of December 31, 2018, Raytheon Missile Systems owned, leased and/or utilized (through operating agreements) approximately 7.1 million square feet of floor space for manufacturing, engineering, research, administration, sales and warehousing.

Raytheon Missile Systems key customers now include the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, the Missile Defense Agency, and the armed forces of more than 40 allied nations.

Raytheon Missile Systems sales have grown along with the portfolio of programs and research, increasing steadily from $2.8 billion in 2000 to $8.3 billion in 2018.  Raytheon Missile Systems ranks as the region’s biggest employer and produces an estimated overall annual economic impact of $2.6 billion in Arizona.

Starting with about 7,500 Tucson plant employees in 1997, the Tucson employee count has also grown steadily, reaching 9,600 in 2015, and increasing to over 13,000 in 2019.

RMS is currently in the middle of a multi-million dollar expansion that includes new infrastructure and expects to hire over 1,000 new workers in Tucson over the next three years.  The business is experiencing unprecedented global demand for its products.

Raytheon's missile products displayed at the 2019 Paris Air Show.  (Courtesy of Reuters)

Raytheon Technologies Corporation (2020? -)

In May 2019 Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation, headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, announced a merger to create the world’s second largest defense contractor (after Boeing), to be called Raytheon Technologies Corporation, with headquarters in the greater Boston area.  Besides Missile Systems, Raytheon’s other businesses today include Integrated Defense Systems; Intelligence, Information and Services; Space and Airborne Systems; and Forcepoint, a cybersecurity operation.  United Technologies Corporation is over twice the size of Raytheon with businesses in aircraft engines (Pratt & Whitney); aerospace systems (Collins Aerospace); and Mission Systems. 

Raytheon Missile Systems and Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems are expected to become part of a new business unit called Integrated Defense & Missile Systems.  The merger won’t finalize until the first half of 2020 and is still subject to approval from government regulators.  In October 2019, shareholders of both companies overwhelmingly approved the merger.

Note:  After its founding in 1908, Hughes Tool Company, the original parent of Raytheon Missile Systems, prospered in its core business of oil drilling tools and a number of other businesses including beer brewing, motion pictures, helicopter manufacturing, hotels and casinos, airline operation, and television.  In 1987 Hughes Tool Company merged with Baker International to form Baker Hughes Incorporated, today one of the largest oil field services companies in the world.

Primary Sources:  The History of the Hughes Missile Plant in Tucson 1947-1960, David Leighton, 2015; “The History of Hughes Missile Systems Company, Facebook, 2013;” Hughes After Howard - The Story of Hughes Aircraft Company, D. Kenneth Richardson, 2011; Raytheon Company Annual Reports, 2002-2018, Raytheon Co. - AnnualReports.com; “Raytheon in Tucson,” David Wichner, Arizona Daily Star, December 4, 2011; and numerous articles from the Arizona Daily Star, Arizona Republic, Los Angeles Times, and New York Times.