Raytheon awarded targeting contract

has been awarded a $285m contract to produce and deliver Improved Target Acquisition Systems (ITAS) to the US Army and the US Marine Corps. The five-year contract continues Army procurement of the systems and marks the start of the US Marine Corps system acquisition. The Army procured 709 ITAS units from 1999 through 2004.

ITAS is the advanced Electro-Optic Target Acquisition Fire Control System. It precisely guides the TOW (Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided) weapon systems to their targets. The targeting system increases TOW's effective range, improves the weapon's ability to hit a target with minimal collateral damage and allows a soldier to engage and destroy targets from safe distances.

ITAS's second generation FLIR (forward-looking infrared) sensor provides long-range reconnaissance and surveillance capability, in all weather and battlefield conditions.

Planned product improvements will incorporate the Far Target Location capability, which automatically determines target location and shows the troop location to give complete situational awareness. Incorporation of a network radio would allow transmission of this information to networked systems on the battlefield.