Top Secret Exhibition Goes to Manchester, Celebrating 100 Years of Communications Intelligence and Cyber Security

Manchester, (April 30, 2021) – Raytheon UK, a unit of Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), is continuing its partnership with the Science Museum Group as the principal sponsor of the “Top Secret: From ciphers to cyber security” exhibition, celebrating a century’s worth of British communications intelligence and cyber security.

The exhibition will launch at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester on Wednesday 19th May, the first day of the museum’s reopening following the national lockdown, and will run until Tuesday 31 August. It will explore communications intelligence and cyber security over the course of 100 years, revealing fascinating stories from the First World War to the latest in cyber security via hand-written documents, declassified files and artefacts from the historic collections of the Science Museum Group and GCHQ – the UK’s intelligence, security and cyber agency.

Among stories from across a century of secret security, visitors can explore the story of Alan Turing and the team of Bletchley Park codebreakers who broke the Enigma code; uncover spy rings that operated during the Cold War; and test their skills in the exhibition’s interactive puzzle zone.

“The story of how GCHQ has protected the nation over the past century is full of intriguing secrets and fascinating figures from history,” said Jeff Lewis, chief executive of Raytheon UK. “Helping to bring this important exhibition to Manchester is a perfect way for us celebrate the city’s growing reputation as a cyber security and intelligence hub.

“This is the latest investment that Raytheon UK has made to digital skills in the region and we hope that this will inspire the next generation of code breakers from Manchester,” he said.

Top Secret has been curated by the Science Museum Group with the help of expert advisors GCHQ. Visitors to the installation in the museum’s newly opened Special Exhibitions Gallery will also hear from GCHQ staff who perform top secret work to maintain digital security and keep the country safe from a range of threats and hostile actors.

Raytheon UK is a leading STEM advocate. Along with the Quadcopter Challenge, a nationwide competition for schoolchildren to design and fly their own quadcopter, and its global Cyber Academy workshops for university students, its support for the Top Secret exhibition is part of a long-standing commitment to raising awareness of STEM subjects amongst students across the UK.

Sally MacDonald, Director of the Science and Industry Museum, said: “We are grateful to Raytheon UK for their support, which has enabled us to make Top Secret free for all visitors to the Science Museum and Industry Museum. In doing so, we hope to engage and inspire even more people with this important exhibition.

“Our museum tells the stories of Manchester’s pioneering past and ideas that started here and went on to change the world. STEM skills have been at the heart of this innovation, and I’m delighted that we’re hosting Top Secret, which showcases the incredible heights that can be achieved through the application of these skills, at a time when the importance of STEM across the region is more important than ever.”

About Raytheon UK

With facilities in Broughton, Waddington, Glenrothes, Harlow, Gloucester and Manchester, Raytheon UK is invested in the British workforce and the development of UK technology. Across the country the company employs 1,700 people. As a prime contractor and major supplier to the U.K. Ministry of Defence, Raytheon UK continues to invest in research and development, supporting innovation and technological advances across the country.

Raytheon UK is a landed company, part of the Raytheon Technologies organisation and sits within the Raytheon Intelligence & Space business.