Potential half-billion-dollar Marine Corps contract for vehicle electro-optics goes to Lockheed Martin and FLIR
Nov. 15, 2011
QUANTICO MARINE BASE, Va., 15 Nov. 2011. U.S. Marine Corp armored combat vehicle designers are asking Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Gyrocam Systems LLC. in Sarasota, Fla., and FLIR Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:FLIR) in North Billerica, Mass. to provide as many as 951 Vehicle Optic Sensor Systems (VOSS) for the RG-31 or JERRV mine clearance vehicles.The maximum $513.7 million military electro-optics contract is from the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., and includes spare parts, maintenance, training, and provisional technical data.VOSS is a network of daytime TV, night-vision, and thermal sensors designed to located improvised explosive devices (IEDs), snipers and other threats at safe stand-off distances from military ground vehicles. VOSS uses a stabilized camera to detect IEDs while on the move during the day and at night. The camera’s video is for after action review, training, and mission briefing for route clearance operations.
The RG-31 Nyala is a multi-purpose mine-protected armored personnel carrier made in South Africa by Land Systems OMC, a division of BAE Systems. It has a V-shaped all-steel welded armor monocoque hull to provide protection from small-arms and mine blast.
The U.S. Department of Defense classifies the RG-31 as a category 1 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle. JERRV, meanwhile, stands for Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicles or Joint Engineering Rapid Response Vehicles, and are for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD).
FLIR Systems is receiving an initial contract amount of $1,985,226, and Lockheed Martin is receiving an initial contract of $251,500. The initial Marine Corps order is for one VOSS unit and co-site integration, which should be finished by mid-December. Work on the total contract should be finished by November 2015.
For more information contact Lockheed Martin Gyrocam Systems online at www.gyrocamsystems.com, FLIR Systems at www.flir.com, or Marine Corps Systems Command at www.marines.mil.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
