Thread: Raytheon riding high with Donald Trump

Raytheon riding high with Donald Trump

Tomahawk missile shows range
Jordan Graham Saturday, April 08, 2017

The Trump administration’s decision to use long-range Tomahawk missiles against Syria sends a message that Massachusetts-based defense giant Raytheon’s missiles are still a favorite of the U.S. military.

“The Tomahawk has three big advantages: It can fly a long distance, it is extremely precise and it doesn’t put U.S. pilots at risk,” said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute in Washington, D.C. “He (President Trump) wanted to send a signal to (Syrian President Bashar Assad but he didn’t want to get too deeply involved in the country’s civil war.”

The Tomahawk, made only by a subsidiary of Waltham-based Raytheon, can be fired from a ship more than 1,000 miles away from a target, cruising not far above the ground and changing altitude based on the terrain until it hits its GPS-programmed target, according to Raytheon.

According to the Navy, Tomahawks were first used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Raytheon has routinely updated the missile, which costs just over $800,000 each, since then, including with the ability to stay in a holding pattern near the target.

The Tomahawk has been a favorite weapon for recent administrations, Thompson said, because of its ability to strike precisely while avoiding the danger of aircraft flying over enemy territory or putting boots on the ground. And, Thompson said, by firing from far offshore the U.S. is able to strike without the political fallout of soldiers entering another country.

The Syria strike could be used as a model for other countries, including North Korea, he said.

Shares of Raytheon rose yesterday, closing up nearly 1.5 percent on a day the markets closed slightly down.

“Most of the big defense stocks have gone up a lot since Trump won the election,” Thompson said. “The important thing for Raytheon is that a new administration is favoring its product.”

http://www.bostonherald.com/business...h_donald_trump

That's nice for Raytheon. They're a great company. But, we need to see more jobs for Americans making things that make our lives better, nice high quality products that last a long time without requiring a lot of returns, repairs or service that we want to buy and have the money to buy from good jobs. And you know what that means? Yes, that means we have to get back on track from the "foreign affairs" to the domestic agenda to fix our country.

1. pass the health care plan
2. pass the tax reform plan
3. bring our companies home
4. bring our capital back
5. fix our bad trade deals
6. continue to reduce immigration
7. deport illegal aliens
8. create manufacturing jobs

But war is good for business - war IS good business.

No, war is terrible business. It makes defense contractors a lot of money at the debt and expense of taxpayers, so it's not good business, it's the worst possible type of business, it's a killing game and the worst game of all.

It is a very good business to be in - if you have the power to make the wars. It is very good for your business if you own part of the business.

Just ask the Bushes, The Cheneys, the Clintons, etc., etc.

The list of war suppliers is huge.

It's good for business - their business.

I didn't say anything about whether it was good for people, the world, etc. - it is good for business and is good business - if that's the business you are in.

If that were not true - we would have a lot less wars around the world.

Sorry, but those are the facts.