Feb 19 2008
DRS Technologies, Inc. announced today it was awarded two contracts by the Missiles and Fire Control segment of Lockheed Martin Corporation to produce key components for the Apache helicopter Arrowhead system. The two awards, for $31.4 and $28.5 million, push the total DRS awards to date for the Arrowhead program to more than $240 million.
The DRS receiver and integrated detector assemblies produced for this program are major components of Arrowhead Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (MTADS/PNVS) systems. Used in U.S. Army AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, these systems help ensure safe flights and efficient targeting in conditions of darkness and very poor visibility.
The $31.4 million contract, to be completed by DRS’s Sensors & Targeting Systems - Optronics Division in Melbourne, Florida, covers the delivery of Pilotage and Targeting receiver assemblies. The $28.5 million contract, for Standard Advanced Dewar Assembly I (SADA I) units used in the receiver assemblies, will be fulfilled by the company’s Infrared Technologies Division in Dallas, Texas.
These DRS products enable the Arrowhead system to provide high-resolution infrared images both in the cockpit and on the pilot’s helmet-mounted display. Advanced processing helps ensure images with such quality that pilots are able to avoid even difficult-to-detect obstacles such as wires during low-altitude flights.
“Not only do our products help the Apache system increase aircrew survivability and lethality, they play a key role in protecting soldiers’ lives on the ground as well,” said James M. Baird, president of the DRS Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition (RSTA) business segment. “We’re proud to make such a significant contribution to the safety and effectiveness of our military’s Apache crews.”
The RSTA business segment develops, manufactures and supports electro-optical technologies, including advanced cooled and uncooled thermal-imaging solutions for soldier systems, ground vehicle, airborne, and maritime as well as for industrial, security, public safety and firefighting applications.