United Technologies and Raytheon announced Sunday they will merge to create a behemoth American defense and aeronautics company. “The transaction will create a premier systems provider with advanced technologies to address rapidly growing segments within aerospace and defense,” a statement from the new company reads. The merged company will go by Raytheon Technologies Corporation. The merger is expected to conclude in the first half of 2020, they said in a joint statement. Raytheon is known for its Tomahawk cruise missiles, often the first weapons fired from U.S. Navy ships in recent conflicts, as well as its Patriot air-defense systems, which gained fame during the first Gulf War. United Technologies is a giant in the aeronautics world, known for producing what is considered one of the most advanced combat aircraft in the world, the F-35 multi-role stealth fighter.
