Elbit Systems of America has been selected for a six-year prototyping effort to develop an Integrated Headborne Sensor System (IHSS) for Army dismounted soldiers, the company said Tuesday.
The three-phased IHSS prototyping program will focus on maturing a headborne display capability that makes use of “superb imaging and augmented reality technology,” according to the company, and will include multiple soldier touchpoint events to gather user feedback.
“Elbit America is known for its next-generation warfighter visual augmentation systems. With the Integrated Headborne Sensor System development, we’re merging the expertise from our precision targeting team in Merrimack, with the night vision goggle expertise out of our Roanoke facility. Together, these teams will create a new system that is specifically tailored to soldier needs and provides the right information at the right times, all in a lightweight package,” Erik Fox, the company’s vice president of warfighter systems, said in a statement.
The 72-month Other Transaction Authority agreement for the IHSS prototyping effort was awarded through the SOSSEC, Inc.-led Sensors, Communication, and Electronics Consortium, Elbit America said.
The consortium released a Request for White Papers for IHSS last June, noting the anticipated value of the prototyping effort was $20 million and that additional awards could follow the initial OTA agreement.
“The government anticipates immediately funding one award. However, if funding subsequently becomes available, funding of additional awards may be possible at that time. The government may choose to make [an] award based on the entire proposed solution, or portions of the solution,” the consortium wrote in a note announcing its call for white papers.
Elbit America described its solution for IHSS as a “wearable system, allowing soldiers to remain mobile, while they acquire, share and utilize critical information on the battlefield.”
“The system fuses a myriad of sensors into a lightweight head-up display that provides unprecedented situational awareness,” Elbit America said in a statement.
Elbit America and L3Harris Technologies [LHX] are both delivering the Army’s Enhanced Night Vision Goggles-Binocular, with both firms having received production deals in October 2020 worth potentially $442 million to begin replacing its legacy monocular night vision devices with the new system.