DRS Technologies Awarded $6.6 Million Contract to Provide Infrared Detectors to The U.S. Army

Business Wire, Feb 2, 1999

PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 1999--DRS Technologies, Inc. (ASE: DRS) announced today that it has received a $6.6 million contract from the U.S. Army to produce Standard Advanced Dewar Assemblies Type II (SADA II) for the tracking and imaging systems on a variety of platforms, including the M2A3 Bradley and the M1A2 Abrams fighting vehicles. SADA II is used in the Horizontal Technology Integration Second Generation Forward Looking Infrared (HTI SGF) Thermal Imaging System, also produced by the company, and the Improved TOW (Tube launched/Optically tracked/Wire guided) Acquisition System (ITAS).

The contract, awarded by the U.S. Army's Communications- Electronics Command (CECOM) office in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, represents the initial order on a new, multiple-year contract with a not-to-exceed value of approximately $23.8 million. DRS already is delivering these systems under a previously awarded contract through September 1999. Receipt of this new contract extends deliveries through July 2000.

Work for this contract will be accomplished by the company's DRS Infrared Technologies unit in Dallas, Texas. DRS Infrared Technologies was formed as a result of the company's acquisition of a portion of Raytheon Company's Focal Plane Array business announced on October 21, 1998. Also acquired in the transaction was a portion of Raytheon's Second Generation Ground Electro-Optical Systems business, renamed DRS Sensor Systems, located in El Segundo, California.

Mark S. Newman, chairman, president and chief executive officer of DRS Technologies, said, "We are pleased to have been awarded an additional contract on the SADA II program. This program has established DRS as a primary supplier of high performing infrared detectors and a leader in focal plane array technology for the defense electronics marketplace. The HTI SGF programs remain central to the Army's modernization strategy for the 21st century."

The SADA II is a second-generation passive infrared sensor assembly, utilizing a 480x5 focal plane array to receive incoming infrared energy and convert it to electrical analog output for imaging and tracking purposes. The company's HTI SGF Thermal Imaging System allows the gunner of ground vehicles to detect, identify and engage tactical targets during the day or night and enhances the surveillance ranges for the identification of threats. It also increases target acquisitions and lethality, as well as significantly reduces fratricide. For ITAS, DRS's SADA II assembly contributes to increased target recognition and stand-off range performance, which improves crew survivability in the battlefield environment.

DRS Technologies provides leading edge products and services to government and commercial markets worldwide. Focused on defense electronics, the company develops and manufactures a broad range of mission critical products, from rugged computers and peripherals to systems and components in the areas of communications, data storage, digital imaging, electro-optics, flight safety and space. The company offers a full complement of technical support and advanced manufacturing services.

Additional information is available on the company's web site at www.drs.com.