The U.S. Army awarded BAE Systems a $13.5 million order to start producing the new Family of Weapon Sights-Individual (FWS-I) thermal weapon sight for soldiers, the company said Tuesday.
The contract is a low rate initial production (LRIP) award to deliver over 100 weapon sight systems as part of a previously announced five-year contract for the Army’s Enhanced Night Vision Goggle III and Family of Weapon Sight-Individual (ENVG III/FWS-I) program, the company said. The earlier contract was announced in May 2015 to provide an integrated night vision and thermal targeting solution to the Army.
The company highlighted the FWS-I solution integrates BAE’s first-to-market 12-micron technology, which helps make the offering smaller and lighter with high image quality. The uncooled infrared thermal weapon sight allows operators to view targets clearly at more than 1,000 meters away.
It can also be mounted on an M4 carbine, M16A4 rifle, M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, M136 AT4 rifle, or M141 Bunker Defeat Munition. The FWS-I can also connect with the ENVG III for increased survivability and lethality. When combined with this, the FWS-I and Rapid Target Acquisition (RATA) Module solution can greatly reduce target engagement time, BAE said.
The RTA solution uses a wireless connection to integrate the weapon sight view directly into the soldier’s goggle so targets can be quickly located and engaged from any carry position without needing to raise the weapon to the eye and lose cover, the company said.
“These advanced weapon sights will allow soldiers to conduct surveillance and acquire targets in any light or weather conditions, increasing mission safety and effectiveness. This production order means that soldiers are one step closer to receiving this mission-critical technology for use in-theater,” Marc Casseres, director of imaging and aiming solutions at BAE, said in a statement.
This production order follows the Army’s declaration that the system is ready for LRIP, known as “Milestone C,” which was itself approved following a set of contractor and government-led field testing events.