BAE Systems awarded $130m

has been awarded a $130m US Army order for production of thermal weapon sights. The order is the second award under a five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, and increases the total contract value to more than $313m. It also increases BAE Systems’ monthly deliveries to 3,000 units per month starting in 2009.

BAE Systems has delivered more than 20,000 thermal weapon sights to date under a separate five-year, $295m contract administered by the army’s Communications-Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Final deliveries will be completed in 2008.

BAE Systems claims its microbolometer thermal imaging technology allows soldiers to see deep into the battlefield during day and night, through smoke, fog, and other obscurants. The sights are used on rifles, machine guns, and mounted weapon systems to significantly improve surveillance and target acquisition.

‘These advanced thermal weapon sights give our soldiers a tactical advantage on today’s battlefield by significantly improving situational awareness, lethality and survivability,’ commented Bruce Zukauskas, director of thermal weapon sight programs for BAE Systems. ‘The individual soldier now has a 24/7 day-and-night capability to detect, identify, and engage targets at increased ranges under adverse conditions.’