At a time when most corporate headlines seem to spell trouble, no news is great news.

For Larry Mano, portfolio manager at Schwab Core Equity Fund (SWANX), that’s just one of a number of reasons why investors might want to consider aerospace technology firm Raytheon (RTN).

As one of the nation’s largest producers of military and defense products, Raytheon displays the kind of steady growth and positive earnings history Mano looks for when investing. While it may not be a headline-making “flashy” stock, or even one that’s at a discount right now, Mano believes the company’s position within the defense market and unique product mix make its shares poised for continued solid performance.

“As a current item, I think [it’s] holding course,” he said. “The projection for next year is certainly positive.”

Raytheon owes much of its success to its broad offering of missiles, sensors and radar devices -- many of which have been bought up by the U.S. Defense Department as part of the Bush administration’s global war on terror, Mano said. 

And the company’s ties to the government’s priorities have paid off. In addition to its multibillion contracts on national and global scales, Raytheon was awarded nearly $148 million in grants for fiscal 2008 from the National Science Foundation, a federal agency that supports research in science and engineering. In fiscal 2007, the company was granted $152 million -- the highest amount awarded to any institution in the country that year.

Still, with the threat of defense cut looming as the Obama administration prepares to take office, Raytheon may have reason to worry -- but, perhaps, not right away. While Mano believes a cut in defense spending could have a major impact on the company, he believes that bigger economic concerns will prevent any reduction in defense spending for at least the next year or two.

Even with those concerns, Mano sees promise in Raytheon as a long-term holding, and said the stock is currently performing better than competitors Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Boeing (BA) -- the latter of which struggled with a crippling eight-week strike of its machinists.

“I think that, given there hasn’t been a whole lot of news [about Raytheon], it’s been a good thing,” he said.