NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The U.S. Navy has tapped L3Harris Technologies' KEO segment in Northampton, Mass., to build additional MK 20 Mod 1 electro-optical sensor systems (EOSS) for American and allied navies under a $44.2 million contract modification announced in late June.
The MK 20 Mod 1 EOSS provides the 5-inch guns onboard Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and other ships with fire control capabilities and serves as a check sight and targeting sensor for anti-surface and anti-air warfare, as well as fire support missions. The sensor system also aids spotting and damage assessment, man-overboard location and tracking, and navigation.
The MK 20 EOSS has digital stabilization with fiber optic gyros, a separate eye-safe laser rangefinder with a diode-pumped laser, enhanced built-in test, and improved sensor-to-sensor boresight alignment.
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L3Harris says its latest EOSS is 60% lighter than previous systems and offers a 10-fold improvement in targeting and positioning accuracy over general surveillance EO technology.
Tech specs
The above-deck sensor unit weighs 220 pounds and provides 360-degree continuous azimuth coverage with elevation from -55 to +85 degrees. Position accuracy is less than 0.25 milliradian, with a slew rate of 171 degrees per second in azimuth and elevation. The system operates in winds up to 75 knots across a temperature range of -4 to +149 degrees Fahrenheit.
The standard sensor suite includes a medium-wave infrared module covering the 3-to-5-micron spectral band with 640x480 resolution and an eye-safe laser rangefinder with a range of up to 9.32 miles. Optional modules include a visual/shortwave infrared imager with 1920x1080 resolution, a longwave infrared module covering the 8- to 12-micron band, a laser designator, and a 360-degree panoramic module.
The system uses a scalable, modular open-systems architecture with 2-axis full-digital stabilization driven by fiber-optic gyros and direct-drive brushless DC motors. L3Harris says the platform- and weapon-system-agnostic design enables integration with customer-selected fire control and ship systems, reducing installation costs across allied platforms.
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L3Harris has been building the EOSS since 2005. That year, the predecessor company, L3-KEO, won a Navy contract to provide the EOSS for the Ticonderoga-class Cruiser Modernization Program. Company electro-optical engineers built on the MK 46 Optical Sight System to blend new technologies into the MK 20 shipboard MOD 0 EOSS, as well as integrate the system into the MK 34 5-inch deck guns.
The Department of Defense (DoD) contract modification announcement notes that this contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (51%) and the governments of Australia (17%), Japan (16%), and Canada (16%) under the Foreign Military Sales program. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. Work will be performed in Northampton, Mass., and is expected to be completed by June 2029.
