DRS Technologies to provide thermal imaging equipment to U.S. Army National Guard
PARSIPPANY, N.J., 11 Aug. 2007.DRS Technologies Inc. received an $8 million contract from the U.S. Army's Research, Development, and Engineering Command's Acquisition Center at U.S. Army Garrison Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, on behalf of the National Guard Bureau, to provide thermal imaging equipment.
The work for this contract will be accomplished by the company's Night Vision Systems Inc. business unit in Allentown, Pa., and Prescott Valley, Az. Night Vision Systems will provide the National Guard's Counterdrug Program with hundreds of Rugged Miniature Thermal Imagers from the company's MX-2A product line.
The thermal imagers will be used by the soldiers and airmen of ground reconnaissance units assigned to help law enforcement agencies observe and detect illegal drug activity. The reconnaissance units operate along the nation's borders at suspected drug trafficking corridors, drop zones, airstrips, and laboratories, and inspect suspicious aircraft, watercraft, and motor vehicles. Night Vision Systems is expected to be finished by March 2008.
The MX-2 and MX-2A detect infrared sources such as human beings and vehicles at extended distances in complete darkness and in the presence of smoke, fog, and dust that obstruct traditional night vision technology.
The handheld thermal units are effective during both day and night and offer multiple interoperable capabilities with common thermal imaging systems. The MX-2 and MX-2A can be used as a handheld device, attached to a tripod or mounted on a weapon.
"The MX-2 and MX-2A give the National Guard a high-powered device to enhance America's continuous fight against drug trafficking," says James M. Baird, president of DRS' Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition business segment. "It provides a clearer view at a longer distance than most thermal imagers and its versatility will allow guardsmen to use it in a number of ways."
