Did the Army favor Raytheon in anti-RPG bid?

NBC News investigation finds contractor enjoyed competitive advantage

By Adam Ciralsky, Lisa Myers & the NBC News Investigative Unit

NBC News

Updated: 9:16 p.m. ET Sept 6, 2006

WASHINGTON - Earlier this year, the U.S. Army awarded one of its favored defense contractors, Raytheon, a $70 million contract to develop a new system to combat rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), which have killed nearly 40 Americans in Afghanistan and more than 130 in Iraq.

The Army insists that Raytheon won the contract fair and square based on its “systems engineering expertise and the discipline which they used in analyzing requirements, threats and potential solutions.”