PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- DRS Technologies, Inc. announced it has received $140 million in orders for Thermal Sights from the U.S. Army PEO Soldier, Project Manager Soldier Sensors and Lasers (PM SSL).

The orders, which are part of a $387-million contract, include $68 million in Light, Medium and Heavy Weapon Thermal Sights for the U.S. Army and $72 million in Medium and Heavy Weapon Thermal Sights for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Deliveries for the U.S. Army will occur January to December 2011. Deliveries for the U.S. Marine Corps will start in October 2010 and will continue through July 2011.

The units will be manufactured by the Melbourne, Florida and Dallas, Texas operations of the DRS Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition (RSTA) business group.

The Thermal Sights offer menu-based, push-button controls for fast and easy polarity, brightness and reticule adjustment and employ proven 25-micron, uncooled infrared technology that provides the warfighter a crisp thermal image of target information.

The Light Weapon Thermal Sight offers a 15-degree horizontal field-of-view lens that’s ideal whenever a wide FOV with close-in focus is required -- including Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT). It also provides a narrow FOV for detection and recognition of distant targets. The Light Weapon Thermal Sight is powered by a four-pack of L91 tactical batteries lasting 25 hours.

Medium and Heavy Weapon Thermal Sights are designed for crew-served weapons and differ only in their telescope assemblies. Equipped with 3X e-zoom, each interfaces with a variety of 52- and 103-mm telescopes. These sights are powered by six packs of L91 batteries with an 18-hour life.

Terry Murphy, President, DRS Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition (RSTA) said: “Our Thermal Sights are giving American warfighters a significant advantage in battlefields of all kinds, including challenging urban environments.”

“The DRS employees who design and build these sights recognize how vitally important these capabilities can be. They’re humbled to be playing even a distant role in helping our soldiers and Marines do the best possible job and committed to making sure that the DRS Thermal Sights deliver outstanding performance in even the most dangerous situations.”

DRS
09.06.2010