LEXINGTON, Mass., Dec. 10 -- BAE Systems has been awarded a three-year, $4.5 million contract by the Department of the Interior for the US Army to improve producibility and lower the cost of advanced MicroIR infrared (IR) focal plane arrays (FPAs). BAE Systems' 640x480 uncooled, microbolometer camera coreBAE Systems' IR Imaging Systems (IRIS) has developed a small-pixel, uncooled, infrared camera capable of producing television-like imagery, the company said; under this contract, IRIS will improve the producibility and reduce the manufacturing cost of the FPAs by a factor of eight. "Uncooled technology, with its recently demonstrated high sensitivity and resolution capabilities, has now achieved the performance level needed for tens of thousands of military sensors that will be built in the next several years," said Matt Dovidio, IRIS program manager. Applications for the sensors include soldier weapon sights, air and wheeled vehicle-mounted sensor packages, surveillance cameras, ultralow-cost missile seekers and first-responder imaging cameras. The uncooled technology is already replacing cooled IR detectors in many applications, BAE Systems said, including the new precision guidance set sensor for joint direct-attack munition. "This is an excellent example of BAE Systems working in partnership with the government to prepare for the anticipated needs of the warfighter," Dovidi said. "Demonstration of the cameras on several different Army platforms, production of large quantities of FPAs and the reduction of the current FPA cost will measure success on the program." The IRIS facility, located in Lexington, Mass., is part of BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems, based Nashua, N.H. For more information, visit: www.baesystems.com