Raytheon to establish global headquarters near Washington

Aerospace and defense company Raytheon Technologies says it plans to establish a global headquarters in Arlington, Virginia

Raytheon Headquarters (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Aerospace and defense company Raytheon Technologies will establish a global headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, the company announced Tuesday.

The location just outside Washington “increases agility in supporting U.S. government and commercial aerospace customers and serves to reinforce partnerships that will progress innovative technologies to advance the industry,” the company said in a news release.

Each of the company's four business units — Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense — currently have operations in Virginia. The new office will be located Arlington’s Rosslyn neighborhood alongside the existing Intelligence and Space business.

The company currently employs about 130 corporate staffers at its Arlington location and does not expect that number to increase significantly, spokesman Chris Johnson said. Raytheon will maintain its presence in Massachusetts, including at its current headquarters in Waltham, he wrote in an email.

The company did not accept or seek any financial incentives from the state or any municipality in connection with the new office, according to the news release.

Raytheon's announcement comes about a month after Boeing Co. disclosed plans to move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington.

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin welcomed the announcement, saying it showed the state is “the best destination for the aerospace and defense community.”