An executive from Collins Aerospace has taken the reins of RTX Corp.βs Raytheon defense unit in Tucson as president Wes Kremer heads for retirement, RTX said.
Phil Jasper, a 31-year aerospace and defense veteran, has been appointed president of Raytheon and will report to RTX President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher Calio, the Arlington, Virginia-based parent company said.
Kremer, president of Raytheonβs Tucson-based missile business since 2019, was expected to step down as Raytheon president effective on Sunday, Jan. 7, when Jasper will replace him, according to an RTX regulatory filing.
Kremer
Kremer will retire from the company at the end of the first quarter, the company said.
Jasper, 55, has been president of Collinsβ Mission Systems strategic business unit in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, since 2018. The unit provides military, government and civil aerospace products and services worldwide.
United Technologies Corp.βs Collins unit along with its Pratt & Whitney aircraft engine unit joined with Raytheon to form Raytheon Technologies Corp. when UTC acquired Raytheon Co. in 2020.
Since then, the merged company consolidated several former Raytheon operations including Tucsonβs former Raytheon Missile Systems and changed its name to RTX Corp.
Kremer joined Raytheon in 2003 and came to Tucson as a systems engineering director for Raytheon Missile Systems in 2008.
After stints as program director for Raytheonβs Standard Missile line and as vice president of air and missile-defense products, Kremer was named president of Raytheonβs Integrated Defense Systems unit in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, in 2015.
He returned to Tucson in 2019 to replace the retiring Taylor Lawrence as president of Raytheon Missile Systems and later headed the combined Raytheon Missiles & Defense business in 2020.
Kremer was named president of the RTX unit now known simply as Raytheon in July.
βWes has contributed significantly to the advancement of missile defense systems for the U.S. and its allies and played a critical role in structuring the Raytheon business in 2023,β Calio said in prepared remarks, wishing Kremer well in his retirement.
Prior to his most recent role at Collins, Jasper worked in various executive positions mainly on government programs for predecessor Rockwell Collins, which United Technologies acquired in 2018.
Calio called Jasper a proven leader and cited his deep experience delivering defense products.
βHis recent integration of RTXβs connected battlespace solutions, a critical customer priority and growth driver for the company, is one of many business transformations he has led over his career,β Calio said.
As president of Raytheon, Jasper will serve as a member of the RTX senior leadership team and will lead the business and its programs including missile defense, air-to-air missiles, fire-control radars, and electro-optical and infrared systems, the company said.
Meanwhile, Calio is slated to replace Chris Hayes as CEO of RTX Corp. in May as part of a planned succession.
A mainstay air-combat weapon used by the U.S. and more than 40 allied nations, the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile has been upgraded over three decades to meet emerging threats.
