Raytheon and DRS Technologies are to jointly engineer, manufacture and develop a 3rd-Generation Forward Looking Infrared night vision B-Kit.

The kit will enable ground forces to discriminate between friend or foe at twice the distance of current night vision infrared systems and will be an upgrade to the 17,000 fielded 2nd-generation ground FLIR systems now in use.

"After decades of experience delivering high-performance night vision to the U.S. Army, our team is uniquely qualified to help maintain combat over match for our ground troops," said Duane Gooden, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president. "Third Gen FLIR will dramatically increase the range of ground combat vehicle sensors under all conditions, allowing our forces to acquire and stop the enemy."

Under the four-year $52 million engineering, manufacturing and development contract from the U.S. Army, the team will deliver B-Kit systems for platform system integration and testing.

A two-year option to build additional systems for more comprehensive testing is included in the contract.

The 3rd-generation FLIR technology will offer ground troops four fields of view, dual-band infrared imaging and improved stabilization, as well as enhanced coverage distance.