SubscribeDRS Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: DRS) announced today that it was awarded a $45.5 million contract to provide rugged Appliqué Computer Systems and peripheral equipment for the U.S. Army's Force XXI Battle Command, Brigade and Below (FBCB2) program.
These systems will support U.S. Army and Marine Corps units engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Installed on M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, DRS's Appliqué Computer Systems will support the Army's Blue Force Tracking requirements, which include beyond line-of-sight reporting and tracking, as well as significant improvements in vertical and horizontal information integration for incorporation into the military's overall battlefield visualization efforts.
The FBCB2 program is focused on developing a digital battle command information system designed to provide commanders, leaders and soldiers, from brigade to individual soldier and across all the battlefield functional areas, with improved information for command and control and enhanced situational awareness. Supporting the Army's overall battlefield visualization efforts, the Appliqué Computer Systems provide a seamless flow of battle command information and interoperability with external command and control and sensor systems.
The contract was received by DRS from the U.S. Army's Communication-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command (CELCMC) in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. For this award, the company's DRS Tactical Systems unit in Palm Bay, Florida, will provide rugged Appliqué Computer Systems, including processor, display and keyboard units, as well as rugged solid-state hard disk drives and mission data loaders. Delivery of more than 5,500 Appliqué systems will begin in January 2006 and continue throughout the year.
"DRS is a market leader in rugged computer systems, and the receipt of this latest order reflects our strong track record for innovative design, highly reliable performance, product quality and timely delivery," said Steven T. Schorer, president of DRS's C4I Group. "The FBCB2 systems have proven to be crucial assets for our forces in Iraq as part of the Army's network-centric communications infrastructure by providing improved interoperability and networked battlefield command information. Our success in supporting these next-generation, high-visibility, battlefield command information systems is the direct result of our commitment to provide best value systems and services."
Incorporating the latest developments in digital information processing and networking, the FBCB2 system provides improved combat support, real-time command and control capabilities, enhanced interoperability and situational awareness throughout the force structure at the soldier, weapons and platform levels, assuring that U.S. armed forces keep pace with advanced technology developments of the 21st century.
The system is intended to support lower-echelon battle command tactical mission requirements, such as real-time situational awareness, target identification and graphical combat area displays. The situational awareness component collectively displays the geographical location of all weapons, platforms, soldiers, command posts and other facilities and is being used in conjunction with the Army's Tactical Internet (TI), a seamless Internet connection, for ease in communication. The TI interfaces with the Army Battle Command Systems (ABCS), collects information from both the operation center and the individual units and disseminates the data through the FBCB2 computers for improved situational awareness.
DRS Technologies, headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, provides leading edge products and services to defense, government intelligence and commercial customers. Focused on defense technology, DRS develops and manufactures a broad range of mission critical systems. The company employs 6,000 people worldwide.
For more information about DRS Technologies, please visit the company's web site at www.drs.com.
