DRS Technologies gets $33 million in orders for Army helicopter sighting systems
MELBOURNE, Fla., 17 Feb. 2006. U.S. Army officials are asking the DRS Technologies Inc. Optronics unit in Melbourne, Fla., to build mast-mounted sights (MMSs) for the Army OH-58D Kiowa Warrior combat helicopters.
DRS received $33 million in orders from the Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
For these orders, DRS will provide depot repair, spares, and field service support for the mast-mounted sight on these helicopters, as well as post-production, engineering, and depot support for obsolescence mitigation and engineering change proposals.
The awards are part of a 5-year $514 million U.S. Army indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded to DRS in December 2003. Deliveries should be finished by the end of 2008.
Installed above the helicopter's rotors, the MMS blends sighting system technologies for target acquisition, stand-off weapons ranges, and reconnaissance. The MMS is a multi-sensor electro-optical sighting system that uses visible light and advanced infrared technology to gather imagery and target acquisition data during the day or night under harsh battlefield conditions.
It contains a high-resolution television camera for long-range target detection; a thermal imaging sensor for navigation, target acquisition, and designation; a laser range finder/designator for target location and guidance of Hellfire missiles and designation for precision munitions; and a boresight assembly that provides in-flight sensor alignment.
The MMS enables the helicopter to remain concealed during all but a few seconds of an engagement, making it more survivable in combat operations than reconnaissance gunships with nose-mounted sensors. For more information contact DRS online at www.drs.com.
