PARSIPPANY, N.J., 2 Sept. 2009. Electro-optical specialist DRS Technologies Inc. in Parsippany, N.J., has become the world's number-one supplier of uncooled infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs), jumping from fifth position in 2006, according to a report by industry analyst Maxtech International Inc. of Fairfield, Conn.
Uncooled focal plane array technology is at the core of night-vision sensors that soldiers carry onto the battlefield, such as the thermal weapon sight, handheld thermal imaging camera, and synthetic vision. This technology enables the operator to penetrate battlefield smoke, dust, sand and fog across great distances in even the most extreme environments -- day or night.
"This achievement was to some extent a matter of being in the right place, with the right products, at the right time," says Chris Wright, senior vice president of Business Development for the Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition (RSTA) business group of DRS Technologies. "The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have fueled the demand for uncooled infrared-imaging devices such as Thermal Weapon Sights and Driver's Vision Enhancers. We were able to capture key U.S. military contracts for these products -- and in the case of the DVEs -- the sole supplier for the largest U.S. Army DVE program of record. These awards have been instrumental in propelling us from fifth to first."
Wright also attributes this success to DRS leadership, who realized early on that advanced uncooled FPA technology would proliferate if it could be made affordable and reliable. "As a result, we've made significant capital investments in our detector technologies since 2007, including the expansion of our Dallas, Texas-based wafer fabrication, assembly and production capabilities. In addition, we have accelerated the development and fabrication of next-generation detector technologies. These initiatives have resulted in an increase of our production staff to meet the soaring demand for our detector modules," Wright says.
For more information contact the DRS RSTA business unit online at www.drs.com.
-- Posted by John Keller, jkeller@pennwell.com. www.milaero.com.
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