JUNE 7--DRS Technologies Inc. (Parsippany, NJ;www.drs.com) has received $43 million in new orders to produce a family of next-generation thermal-weapon sights (TWSs) for US Army ground-force applications. DRS received the new orders from the US Army's Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) in Fort Monmouth, NJ, acting on behalf of Program Executive Office Soldier. For these awards, DRS will produce light, medium, and heavy TWSs, which will utilize the company's uncooled infrared technology.
Work for these contracts will be done by the company's DRS Optronics facilities in Palm Bay and Melbourne, FL, and DRS Infrared Technologies facilities in Dallas, TX. Deliveries of more than 4000 high-performance, affordable, reliable, and soldier-friendly TWSs will commence in October 2005 and continue through October 2006.
These orders are part of a competitively secured five-year contract awarded to DRS in March 2004. The contract has a base value of $118 million and a total value of $375 million, including options.
Using advanced microbolometer-based infrared technology, the DRS family TWSs will provide soldiers and armament crews with greater range of threat detection and a wider field of view at a reduced cost. These sights will better equip the war fighter to see the battlefield and safely engage the enemy.
The TWS produced under these latest orders will mount onto a variety of weapons, including M2 and M240 machine guns, M4, M16, and M82 assault rifles, M24 Sniper Weapon System, M107 antimateriel gun, M136 rocket launcher, MK19 and M203 grenade launchers, and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.
