$24 million Javelin contract

DRS Technologies announced today that it has received a $24 million production contract on the Javelin Anti-Tank Weapon System program. The contract was awarded by Raytheon Missile Systems.

Javelin is a man-portable, ‘fire-and-forget’, medium-range anti-tank weapon system that is in use with the US Army and Marine Corps. It is also approved through the US Army’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program for international procurement.

For this award, the fifth order under a multi-year contract, the company’s DRS Infrared Technologies unit in Dallas, Texas will produce Second Generation Forward Looking Infrared (2nd Gen FLIR) Integrated Dewar Cooler Assemblies (IDCAs) for the Javelin’s Command Launch Unit (CLU).

Deliveries of more than 1,200 CLUs are expected to begin in early 2006 and continue through to June 2007. Additional orders on this program are anticipated by the company.

Parsippany, New Jersey-based DRS has delivered over 5,000 2nd Gen FLIR components and assemblies for the Javelin since the program’s inception and is the sole supplier of the IDCAs for the Javelin’s CLU.

The Javelin missile system was developed by a joint venture between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, a unit of Lockheed Martin. It replaces the ageing, wire-guided Dragon missile in ranger and special operations units, infantry and engineer battalions, and armoured Scout platoons.