A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 participates in a live fire range flight during Raven 18-06 at the Combat Readiness Training Center, Gulfport, Miss., August 9, 2018. Raven is a realistic military training exercise, in which HMH-461 provides air support to Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command. This exercise allows the squadron to conduct core and mission skill training to improve the squadron’s combat readiness within the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The CH-53E Super Stallions and crew are assigned to HMH-461, Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cody J. Ohira)
By Walt Evans |
6 years ago |
08/31/2018

Raytheon [RTN] took home a five-year $59.7 million contract by the U.S. Navy for support of its forward looking infrared (FLIR) system aboard the CH-53 and V-22 Osprey aircraft, the Department of Defense said on Wednesday.

A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 participates in a live fire range flight during Raven 18-06 at the Combat Readiness Training Center, Gulfport, Miss., August 9, 2018. Raven is a realistic military training exercise, in which HMH-461 provides air support to Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command. This exercise allows the squadron to conduct core and mission skill training to improve the squadron’s combat readiness within the Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The CH-53E Super Stallions and crew are assigned to HMH-461, Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cody J. Ohira)
A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 participates in a live fire range flight during Raven 18-06 at the Combat Readiness Training Center, Gulfport, Miss., August 9, 2018. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cody J. Ohira)

A $16 million initial delivery order for the contract’s first year was issued “concurrently with the award,” the DoD said in a press release. The U.S. Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Weapon Systems Support pulled the $16 million from 2018 Navy working capital funds.

Raytheon’s FLIR thermal-imaging technology allows aircraft pilots to see through low-visibility conditions like rain, smoke, fog, and darkness. The technology was originally developed by Raytheon subsidiary Texas Instruments in 1963, and older generations of FLIR have been used by the military for decades.

Third-gen FLIR is a significant upgrade for pilots, adding the ability to toggle among wide, medium, narrow, and ultra-narrow fields of view, among other improvements. A majority of work for the contract will be performed at Raytheon’s facilities in McKinney, Texas, and El Segundo, Calif.