The U.S. Navy awarded a contract for five ABE Model 310 common systems valued at $2.9 million. The contract also provides options for up to 50 additional ABE systems through 2009 with a potential contract value of more than $20 million if all options are exercised.
The order and options include application-specific software for aligning systems on AH-1W and AH-1Z Super Cobra and MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, plus documentation and training.
U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps technicians will use the ABE systems for precision alignment of sensor and weapon stations aboard the rotorcraft while they are in depot or deployed on ships at sea.
The U.S. Army contract, valued at $0.7 million, includes the ABE Model 310, AH-64D Apache Longbow boresight adapters, training, and documentation. The ABE system will be used to align AH-64Ds for the U.S. Army's Apache Reset Program in Texas.
"The selections by both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army demonstrate that our ABE system is the field-proven, common boresight system of choice," said Frederick M. Strader, president and chief executive officer of United Industrial Corporation and AAI Corporation.
"The U.S. Navy order is a clear example of how ABE systems can support an array of aircraft platforms, benefiting the service through compatibility and reduced cost.
"U.S. Army Apache Reset Program personnel will have the benefit of the same boresight system that The Boeing Company uses in the manufacture and testing of Apache helicopters at its Mesa, Ariz., production facility," Strader added.
"We are proud to be part of the team helping refurbish and return to full service the Apache systems that have served warfighters so well in battlefield operations."
In addition to the new orders, the U.S. Air Force and a number of international armed forces, including those from Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan, have previously selected ABE systems for field boresight applications on a range of aircraft.
AAI's gyro-stabilized, electro-optical ABE Model 310 boresight system technology provides significantly increased accuracy and repeatability, reduced maintenance time, and lower operating costs than competing systems. The ABE Model 310 is an enhanced version of AAI's ABE Model 300 in service worldwide.
Work on the ABE systems and components will be performed at AAI Corporation's Hunt Valley, Md., facility. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in May 2005.