Army Awards $1.9 Bn to DRS for Infrared Driver's Vision Enhancers

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(Parsippany, N.J., September 14, 2009) -- DRS Technologies, Inc. announced today that it is one of only two suppliers chosen for a $1.9 billion Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for Driver's Vision Enhancers (DVEs). The contract, awarded by the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM) at Fort Monmouth, NJ, covers orders from the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Special Operations Command.

DVEs provide operators of combat and tactical-wheeled vehicles with the ability to maneuver in severely degraded visual conditions resulting from smoke, fog, sand and other battlefield obscurants. Using advanced infrared-imaging and display technologies, the units provide unparalleled situational awareness under any conditions, helping users detect and navigate possible threats - Day or Night.

"Our selection for this IDIQ contract is an acknowledgement that DRS demonstrated a high level of reliability coupled with expertise in applications," said Terry Murphy, president of DRS Technologies' Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition (RSTA) business group.

"In 2004, we were awarded our first DVE contract. Since then, we have delivered more than 40,000 units for deployment on a full range of combat and tactical-wheeled vehicles, including the Abrams tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Stryker, MRAP, Amphibious Assault Vehicle, HMMWV and other heavy and medium tactical-wheeled vehicles. We were also selected to deliver the first 150 FADS (Forward Activity Detection System) to provide the enhanced situational awareness of the narrow field of view Observer Sensor Module, and we completed delivery of those systems within 100 days of receipt of the order."

Under the new DVE "Family of Systems" (FOS) contract, DRS expects to deliver four versions of this important technology: the DVE Lite for line-haul truck and tactical vehicle application to promote vehicle safety and hazard avoidance in supply chain operations; the DVE CV for combat vehicles; the DVE TWV with Electronic Pan and Tilt Modules (EPTMs) for tactical wheeled vehicles; and the DVE TWV with Forward Activity Detection System (FADS), for detection or surveillance at unprecedented distances to monitor suspicious activities such as those associated with planting potentially deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Although the DRS RSTA group is the lead on DVE programs, it has been from the start a cross-corporation effort, relying on the respective expertise of several DRS units. The infrared detectors are manufactured by DRS RSTA's Dallas, Texas operation; the sensor modules, by DRS RSTA's Melbourne, Florida, operations; the display control modules, by DRS Tactical Systems in Melbourne, Florida, and the EPTMs, by DRS C3 in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.

"Our DVE technology has proven its value repeatedly on the battlefield," said Murphy, "helping our warfighters navigate confidently under any conditions, avoid hazards, and detect potential threats from safe distances. As we continue to drive down the cost of this technology, we expect these lifesaving benefits to make our DVEs as common in military vehicles as headlights are in automobiles."

Source : DRS Technologies Inc., A Finmeccanica Company (Milan: FNC.MI)