Leonardo DRS announced that it has received an order for continued production of its next-generation thermal weapon sights for the U.S. Army. The production order for $117 million was made under the current Family of Weapon Sights – Individual (FWS-I) IDIQ contract.
Leveraging DRS’s uncooled thermal imaging technology, FWS-I is a stand-alone, clip-on weapon sight that connects wirelessly to helmet-mounted vision systems including the enhanced night vision goggle binoculars and the next-gen integrated visual augmentation system and provides rapid target acquisition capabilities to the soldier. It gives users the ability to acquire targets day or night and in a range of degraded environmental conditions, providing strategic and tactical advantages on the battlefield.
“This cutting-edge technology ensures soldiers will have the most advanced weapon sight systems on the battlefield today,” said Jerry Hathaway, senior vice president and general manager of DRS’s Electro-Optical Infrared Systems business. “We are proud the U.S. Army recognizes us as a trusted partner to continue to deliver this vital technology to our warfighters.”
In addition to FWS-I, Leonardo DRS has an extensive installed base of electro-optical and infrared technology across the U.S. military. Advanced sensing capability is a key strategic focus for the company providing world-leading sensing and laser technologies for a range of aircraft protection and mounted and unmounted sensors supporting the men and women of the U.S. armed forces.
The Family of Weapons Sights-Sniper (FWS-S) thermal weapon sight provides night/day and degraded battlefield or weather condition visibility for the Special Operation Forces (SOF) Sniper by easily clipping the device in front of the existing day scope. The clip-on configuration allows the operator to maintain the existing day scope zero.
The FWS-S employs a completely passive, micro-cooled mid-wave infrared (MWIR) technology to provide a high-quality, large format, 640 x 480 resolution image, usable with day scope magnifications from 5x to > 25x. The proven range detect performance will match or exceed current Sniper Weapons Systems capabilities. The FWS-S has been ruggedized for use with all SOF and U.S. Army Sniper Weapon Systems. It is ideal for extended range target detection and identification, observation of environmental indicators, and is capable of tracking bullet trajectory making it the preferred Night Vision Device (NVD) for the Sniper or Reconnaissance role. The hot-swap battery capability and / or external power feature allows persistent over watch on extended missions.
The rear facing focus knob and controls are optimized for sniper conops. The wired stick remote control replicates FWS-S keypad functionality and enables one-handed gloved operation. Super elevation adjust is incorporated into the mount to accommodate targeting at various ranges while ensuring target visualization.
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