BAE Systems to Enhance Production of Uncooled Cameras

To upgrade production and reduce the manufacturing cost of MicroIR infrared focal plane arrays by a factor of eight, BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems, based in Nashua, N.H., has been awarded a three-year, $4.5 million contract by the US Department of the Interior.

The company's IR Imaging Systems unit in Lexington, Mass., which developed a small-pixel, uncooled IR camera enabling televisionlike imagery, will advance the capability to produce affordable uncooled cameras for the US Army. Program manager Matt Dovidio said the high resolution and sensitivity of uncooled technology make it suitable for future military sensors. Applications for the sensors include weapon sights, surveillance cameras, low-cost missile seekers, and sensor packages that are mounted on air and wheeled vehicles.