DRS Technologies Inc. has been awarded a new $7 million contract to produce lightweight electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor systems for the US Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program Class I unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The sensors will provide imagery during reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) missions and enhanced reconnaissance and security/early warning capabilities; they will also provide common operating picture information to aid line-of-sight (LOS), non-LOS and beyond-LOS targeting. The FCS, the Army’s centerpiece for next-generation land warfare, is intended to be one of the first truly networked systems, sharing data and sensor information to provide situational awareness on the battlefield. The contract was awarded to DRS by Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Integrated Systems sector, California Microwave Systems unit, located in Belcamp, Md. Northrop Grumman is the airborne systems integrator for the FCS program. For this award, DRS will develop and provide emulators and prototypes of an EO/IR system that meets the RSTA requirements of the FCS Class I UAV. Work will be done by the DRS Sensors & Targeting Systems unit, California Div., in Cypress, Calif., and will continue through September 2008. "This new award expands DRS’s role on the Future Combat System program as a UAV sensor provider and an industry leader in uncooled, high-performance thermal imaging solutions for the military," said James M. Baird, president of DRS’s Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition segment. DRS said its sensor system provides commonality with manned and unmanned ground operations. The company’s sensor and imaging technology also supports other US Army, Navy and Air Force mission applications and can be used with emerging RSTA missions on multiple platforms for various applications, it said. For more information, visit: www.drs.com