PARSIPPANY, N.J., 5 Oct. 2005. DRS Technologies, Inc. announced today that it received $46 million in initial funding to produce Thermal Binocular System Tactical Range Thermal Imagers under a competitively awarded, five-year contract valued at $660 million, including options, for the U.S. Marine Corps.
The Tactical Range Thermal Imagers are lightweight, hand-held, battery-operated, infrared binoculars used by the military for long-range observation and reconnaissance.
The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract was awarded to DRS by the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM), Infantry Weapons Branch, in Quantico, Va. For the initial award, DRS will deliver more than 3,800 systems. The company will produce in excess of 28,000 systems over the life of the contract, if all options are exercised.
The company's DRS Optronics unit in Palm Bay, Fla., DRS Infrared Technologies unit in Dallas, Texas, and DRS Nytech Imaging Systems unit in Irvine, Calif., will perform all work associated with this contract. Product deliveries are expected to be completed by September 2010.
"The award of this important contract to DRS affirms our position as an industry leader in uncooled, high-performance thermal imaging solutions, builds on our success with the Thermal Weapon Sights II program, establishes a significant hand-held thermal imager product and increases our production volume of uncooled thermal imaging products," said Fred L. Marion, president of DRS's Surveillance & Reconnaissance Group. "The new Tactical Range Thermal Imager program extends our soldier systems customer base and initiates a baseline for growth in the hand-held infrared sensor line."
The Tactical Range Thermal Imagers produced by DRS will leverage the technologies utilized in a family of Thermal Weapon Sights, also produced by DRS under a $375 million U.S. Army program received last year. In applying these technologies, DRS will maximize affordability and life-cycle efficiencies. The Tactical Range Thermal Imagers will incorporate state-of-the-art advancements in night vision technology for an easy-to-use, robust and reliable system. They will utilize 640- by 480-pixel uncooled thermal imaging technology for maximum performance and advanced electronics to ensure low power requirements and a long operational life.
DRS Technologies, headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., provides leading edge products and services to defense, government intelligence and commercial customers. Focused on defense technology, DRS develops and manufactures a broad range of mission critical systems. The company employs 6,000 people worldwide. For more information, see www.drs.com.
