Big defense contractor Raytheon Technologies will relocate its corporate headquarters from Waltham, Massachusetts, to Arlington, Virginia, joining other defense contractors moving closer to the government agencies they do business with.
Raytheon makes everything from Patriot missiles to Pratt & Whitney jet engines.
The new headquarters will be in Rosslyn, where Raytheon currently has its Intelligence and Space business. Raytheon has several operations in Virginia already.
There are no financial incentives from any state or municipality associated with Raytheon’s decision to relocate its global headquarters to Arlington.
The move will take place in the third quarter of this year. It will not result in a significant increase in its local headcount and there will be no workforce reductions in Massachusetts, according to a company spokesman.
Raytheon currently has about 3,500 employees in the D.C. region.
“The location 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. Washington, D.C. serves as a convenient travel hub for the company’s global customers and employees,” Raytheon said in a statement.
Raytheon’s announcement comes one month after another Fortune 500 company, Boeing said it was relocating its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, and would establish a major research and technology hub here.
Both will be shoulder to shoulder with competitors headquartered in the Washington region, including Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman.
Raytheon Technologies Corporation was formed in 2020 by the merger of Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses.
