UNMANNED SYSTEMS UPDATE
06 Apr 09. FLIR Systems, Inc. has received a $4.1m Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) delivery order from Northrop Grumman for its BRITE Star® II multi-sensor target designation system. The units delivered under this contract will be installed on Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Take-off and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV). The Fire Scout provides Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to tactical users without relying on manned aircraft or space-based assets. Work will be performed at FLIR’s facilities in Wilsonville, OR. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2009 and conclude in 2010.
09 Apr 09. SELEX Galileo, leading member of the Finmeccanica UK Battlespace Solutions team, has flown its Unmanned Air System (UAS) during a British Army mission rehearsal exercise in the UK. The flight team from SELEX Galileo’s Air Systems, Unmanned Air Systems & Simulators division oversaw a number of successful flights of its STRIX Mini UAS as part of exercises carried out from 16 – 20 March on Salisbury Plain. This involved fast aircraft and helicopters, as well as SELEX Galileo’s mini UAS. The support provided by SELEX Galileo included flying the STRIX Mini UAS for periods of up to one hour to present surveillance of activities at key points on the ground and to monitor the movement of convoys and related action. The video images obtained were down-linked to the Company’s Common Ground Control Station and then were passed directly to the Brigade’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (ISTAR) cell. Approximately 2000 troops and 100 vehicles took part in this major exercise on Salisbury Plain’s training area which aimed to prepare troops for possible deployment on operations in the coming months. This Mission Rehearsal Exercise (MRX) involved units from the Bulford based 12 Mechanised Brigade.
01 Apr 09. Insitu, Inc., Bingen, Wash., is being awarded a $20,917,403 firm fixed price contract for the procurement of ScanEagle Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) hardware for four operational sites, 3 spare/operational float packages, and critical spares kits in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) missions. Work will be performed in Bingen, Wash., and is expected to be completed in Jul. 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to the FAR 6.302-2. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0005).