BRISTOL, Penn, June 20, 2003. L-3 Telemetry-East, a division of L-3 Communications has been awarded a contract valued at over $1 million from Raytheon Missile Systems to provide Tactical Telemetry Systems in support of flight test activities for the Excalibur (XM982) guided artillery projectile.

The initial contract covers the System Design and Development (SDD) phase of the XM982 program, with subsequent contracts to be issued for the low rate initial production phase, which will total approximately another several million dollars. L-3's Tactical Telemetry System will be test fired on roughly 150 Excalibur projectiles, with testing slated to begin in early 2004.

"L-3 Telemetry-East's Tactical Telemetry System is the smallest device of its kind, signaling an unprecedented advance in telemetry miniaturization technology and positioning us as a leading supplier of telemetry for precision-guided munitions," said Dennis Rizzardi, vice president of business development for L-3 Telemetry-East. "At just six cubic inches, including both a telemetry encoder and transmitter, the system we're delivering in support of the Excalibur program is the most miniaturized, gun-hardened tactical telemetry unit in the field. We are pleased to support Raytheon on the Excalibur program and intend to leverage our experience on this effort into other U.S. Armed Forces munitions programs."

The L-3 Tactical Telemetry System integrates an array of telemetry electronics into a six-cubic-inch, gun-hardened housing, which will be an integral part of the XM982's Guidance Electronics Unit (GEU). During flight test operations, the telemetry system will collect information critical to the reliability and performance of the projectile, and will then transmit this information to ground receiving stations for real-time processing and recording.

The Excalibur guided projectile program is a key element of the transformation of the U.S. Army to a strategically deployable, logistically supportable and highly lethal force during this decade. The 155mm Excalibur artillery projectiles will allow the U.S. Army and Marine Corps cannon artillery units to dominate future battlefields at extended ranges in support of the lighter Interim and Objective forces now being equipped and deployed. The program is being managed by PM Excalibur at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, through the prime contractor, Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona. Raytheon is also the prime contractor for the U.S. Navy's Extended Range Guided Munition (ERGM).

To learn more about L-3 Telemetry-East, visit
www.L-3Com.com/te .

Military & Aerospace Electronics