INTERVIEW-Raytheon sees stable business despite downturn

* Raytheon hit less hard by defense cuts

* Strong international outlook

* Eyeing more Patriot upgrades for Saudi Arabia

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - Raytheon Co (RTN.N) may have dropped a notch to No. 6 on the Pentagon's list of top prime contractors, but the company says it is well-positioned to weather U.S. defense cuts and a global economic downturn.

"We're pretty optimistic about our product line and where we are," Tom Culligan, who heads Raytheon's international and domestic business development efforts, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

With 8,000 contracts that have an average value of $5 million, Raytheon was less hard hit than some of its bigger competitors by program cuts and terminations announced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April.

"There are not many contracts that could go down in our world that would do any significant harm to our business base," he said. "It keeps us in a fairly stable position no matter how stormy the weather is."