DRS Technologies Receives $51M Contract To Support The Mast Mounted Sights On U.S. Army Attack Helicopters
Parsippany, NJ - DRS Technologies, Inc. announced recently that it was awarded a $51M contract from the U.S. Army to support the manufacturing of Mast Mounted Sights (MMS) installed on OH-58 Kiowa Warrior attack helicopters.
For this order, DRS will provide depot repair, spares and field service support for the MMS, as well as post-production, engineering and depot support for obsolescence mitigation and engineering change proposals. The contract was awarded to DRS by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The work for this award will be accomplished by the company's DRS Sensors & Targeting Systems – Optronics Division in Melbourne and Palm Bay, Florida. Product deliveries and services are expected to continue through 2008.
The contract is part of a five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract valued at $514M and awarded to DRS in December 2003. To date, the company has been awarded more than $228 million from AMCOM for work on this program.
"As a premier supplier of infrared sighting, targeting and night vision systems for the U.S. Army, we remain committed to the support of the Kiowa Warrior helicopter and to extending its operational capability in the battlespace," said James M. Baird, president of DRS's Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition (RSTA) Segment. "This award continues our many years of service for this reliable, front-line platform. Through this program, DRS continues to demonstrate our technical expertise for the Army's aviation units engaged in current operations in Southwest Asia."
Installed above the rotors of the helicopter, the MMS incorporates sighting system technologies that are crucial to the missions and survivability of U.S. ground forces. It provides the helicopter with an improved target acquisition performance, greater stand-off ranges and reconnaissance capabilities. The MMS is considered a pivotal asset in forward battle areas and reconnaissance missions and for helicopter survivability, and continues to play an integral role in the support and success of Army aviation units engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Its unique capabilities allow pilots and crew to scan a battlefield to acquire, identify and derive the geographical coordinates of specific targets.
The MMS enables the Kiowa to fight during both day and night from the maximum range of its weapons systems with minimum exposure to enemy threats. It also allows the helicopter to remain concealed until just a few seconds before an engagement, making it significantly more survivable in combat operations than reconnaissance gunships with nose-mounted sensors.
The MMS contains a suite of sensors, including a high-resolution television camera for long-range, low-light target detection, an upgraded thermal imaging sensor supporting navigation, target acquisition and designation, a laser rangefinder/designator to provide precise target location and guidance of Hellfire missiles and Copperhead artillery rounds, and a boresight assembly that provides in-flight sensor alignment.
SOURCE: DRS Technologies, Inc.