Tucson-based Raytheon Missiles & Defense is moving into new office space at the University of Arizona’s Tech Park at the Bridges on the city’s south side.
Raytheon plans to move this fall into 14,000 square feet of office space at The Refinery, a four-story building at the 65-acre tech park at The Bridges, a 350-acre, multi-use development near East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway.
The company — a major provider of front-line missiles and other defense systems for the U.S. and allied nations — is Tucson’s biggest employer with more than 13,000 workers at its main manufacturing campus at Tucson International Airport, a major facility at the UA Tech Park on South Rita Road and some smaller local offices.
Opened in early 2022 with 120,000 square feet of Class A office space, The Refinery already houses UA agencies including Tech Launch Arizona and the UA Applied Research Corp., a nonprofit set up to handle defense and security projects.
Raytheon will be the first corporate tenant at The Refinery, which was designed as a collaborative space with half devoted to the UA and the other half earmarked for industry tenants.
Raytheon is a major employer of UA graduates and also is one of the largest tenants at the UA Tech Park at Rita Road since establishing operations there in 1993.
“The Refinery provides us the much-needed space where we can continue to collaborate with our university partners and government agencies to develop next-generation technology,” Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missiles & Defense, said in prepared remarks.
“It will also help us continue to develop the local workforce for future careers in aerospace and enable us to expand our research due to the proximity to the University of Arizona’s engineering facilities,” Kremer said.
A leader in optical sciences, in recent years the UA has upped its game in aerospace engineering with a major expansion of its wind-tunnel labs to meet a growing demand from Raytheon and government researchers to develop hypersonic weapons to meet emerging global threats from Russia and China.
Major wind-tunnel upgrades will vault the University of Arizona into the top level of U.S. schools for aerodynamics research.
Raytheon hires a record number of UA graduates at all skill levels, with an emphasis on engineering and other higher-wage, technical positions, and has a strong internship program with the UA, the school said.
“Raytheon’s commitment to The Refinery is an extension of the robust relationship with the University of Arizona,” said Carol Stewart, vice president for Tech Parks Arizona. “We purposefully built the UA Tech Park to facilitate university-industry interaction and create a sandbox for new technology advancement and economic prosperity.”
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