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DRS Tech Receives US Army Contract For Next-Gen Thermal Weapon Sights

File photo: Thermal Weapon Site.
by Staff Writers
Parsippany NJ (SPX) May 19, 2006
DRS Tech has announced that it has received a $39 million order to produce a family of next-generation Thermal Weapon Sights (TWS II) for U.S. Army ground force applications. DRS received the new order from the U.S. Army's Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, acting on behalf of Program Executive Office Soldier.

For this award, DRS will produce light, medium and heavy Thermal Weapon Sights, which will utilize the company's uncooled infrared technology. Work for this contract will be accomplished by the company's DRS Sensors & Targeting Systems - Optronics Division in Palm Bay and Melbourne, Florida, and Infrared Technologies Division in Dallas, Texas.

Product design and engineering was accomplished by DRS Nytech Systems in Irvine, California, and DRS Sensors & Targeting Systems - California Division in Cypress, California. Deliveries will commence in November of this year and continue through December 2007.

This order is part of a competitively secured five-year contract awarded to DRS in March 2004. The contract has a total potential value of $375 million, including options.

"DRS is an industry leader in uncooled, high-performance, thermal imaging systems, and the TWS II is a cornerstone program for DRS in this core technology area," said Fred L. Marion, president of DRS's Surveillance & Reconnaissance Group. "Optimized to place increased lethality in the hands of individual war fighters, TWS will enhance their survivability on the open and urban battlefields. This recent order under the TWS II program will contribute immediately to the military's current and future force objectives."

Using advanced microbolometer-based infrared technology, the DRS family of light, medium and heavy TWS will provide U.S. Army soldiers and armament crews with greater range of threat detection and wider field of view at a reduced cost. Providing superior image quality, greater battery life and a user-friendly menu structure, these sights will better equip war fighters to see the battlefield under vision-obscured conditions and engage the enemy.

The Light, Medium and Heavy TWS produced by DRS will mount onto a variety of weapons, including M2, M240, M249 and MK19 machine guns, M4, M16 and M82 assault rifles, M24 and M82 Sniper Weapon Systems, M107 anti-materiel guns, M136 rocket launchers and M203 grenade launchers.

Similar next-generation thermal weapon sights produced by DRS have broad application for various missions of U.S. military services, including the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Special Operations, in addition to the Army. The variety of DRS's uncooled infrared sensors ensures availability to international militaries, as well. The company's thermal weapon sights product line also can be used for homeland defense initiatives supporting first responders and government customs and border control/protection agencies, in addition to private security companies, domestic law enforcement agencies, and for applications where the protection of high-value assets and critical infrastructure from terrorist threats are priorities.

Related Links
DRS Tech

Russian Army to get new weaponry in 2006
Moscow (RIA Novosti) May 19, 2006
The Russian Armed Forces will get a large procurement of new weaponry by the end of this year, a deputy defense minister said Thursday.







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