PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J., 13 Feb. 2011. U.S. Army officials are stepping up their purchases of the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations (CROWS) from Kongsberg Defence in Kongsberg, Norway, under terms of a $120.4 million contract announced Friday. The Army is increasing the maximum quantity of the Kongsberg CROWS systems from 10,349 units to 11,690 units.CROWS or is a remote-control weapon system that enables combat vehicles operators to locate and shoot at targets while inside the vehicle and protected by its armor. CROWS can be fitted with the MK19 grenade launcher, .50 caliber M2 machine gun, M240B machine gun, and M249 squad automatic weapon. Awarding the contract are officials of the Army Contracting Command at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.The CROWS system consists of a gyro-stabilized mount attached to the top of the combat vehicle, as well as its guns and grenade launcher. The weapon's sensors include daylight video camera, thermal imager, and eye-safe laser rangefinder.
The CROWS operator sits behind the driver, and controls the CROWS weapons with a display, switches, and joystick. The system has been used on the M1 Abrams main battle tank, the Humvee, and other armored vehicles.
Kongsberg will do the work in Johnstown, Pa., and should be finished by August 2012. For more information contact Kongsberg Defence online at www.kongsberg.com, or the Army's Picatinny Arsenal at www.pica.army.mil.
