Follow on contract for reconnaissance robots

27 July 2010

Boeing and iRobot Corp have received a new task order to an existing contract to provide Small Unmanned Ground Vehicles (SUGV) to the US Army.

The order calls for 94 new model 310 SUGV robots, plus spares, for a total value of $14.6m.  

This order, the contract’s fifth, brings the total units ordered by the US government to 323. The existing Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract will run through February.

‘The 35-pound 310 SUGV system provides the dismounted Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician with the ability to perform reconnaissance during extremely hazardous EOD missions involving unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices,’ said Bob DaLee, Robotics program manager for Boeing Network & Tactical Systems.

‘Robots have played an important role on the battlefield for years now, and their numbers in theater are growing,’ said Joe Dyer, president of iRobot’s Government and Industrial Robots division. ‘Warfighters can carry and quickly deploy the SUGV at a moment’s notice, which is crucial in challenging environments such as Afghanistan.’

Boeing and iRobot developed the SUGV family of vehicles under a strategic alliance that began in 2007.

SUGV is designed to give the military real-time awareness of critical situations and allow them to complete missions from safe standoff distances.

As the prime contractor, Boeing will provide program management, contracts, government-test support and quality-control support from its offices in Huntsville.

Bedford, MA-based iRobot will be responsible for engineering, government-test support, manufacturing, training and logistics services.

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