FLIR Systems Awarded Contract to Provide Airborne Thermal Imaging Systems for 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games; Star SAFIRE II Systems To Be Used By Hellenic Port Police

Business Wire, March 27, 2003

Business Editors

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2003

FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced today that it has been awarded a contract valued in excess of $3.0 million to provide its Star SAFIRE(TM) II airborne thermal imaging systems to the Hellenic Port Police for use on their Eurocopter AS 365 N3 Dauphin helicopters for port security, coastal patrol, shipping protection and general surveillance during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. Delivery of the systems will begin in the first half of 2003.

The Star SAFIRE II is a military qualified 5-axis gyro-stabilized system featuring a high resolution long range thermal imager among other payloads. The system's precision stabilization and long range imaging capabilities allow helicopter based search and surveillance operations to take place at long standoff ranges, increasing safety and reducing noise levels on the ground. With state-of-the-art thermal sensitivity and magnification, the system provides long range imaging capability in darkness and during adverse weather conditions, allowing day and night operations. The system contains multiple optical payloads in addition to the infrared detector, including a TV camera with a long-range zoom lens for daylight operations, laser rangefinder, laser illuminator or laser pointer and a GPS interface. Other examples of Star SAFIRE II applications include maritime patrol, unmanned air vehicles (UAV), reconnaissance missions, border and coastal surveillance and target identification and designation.

This contract award builds on earlier program success in Greece, including the Hellenic Navy and Coast Guard. The Star SAFIRE II is the latest generation from the SAFIRE family of airborne thermal imaging systems, which are military qualified and widely deployed: over 800 systems are in service on over 75 different types of aircraft in six continents.

About FLIR Systems

FLIR Systems designs, manufactures and markets infrared imaging systems worldwide for a variety of applications. FLIR's imaging products are used in such diverse applications as public safety, defense, navigation, electronic news gathering and search and rescue. Thermography products support such applications as condition monitoring, non-destructive testing, medical science, research and development, and manufacturing process control. For more information, please visit their Web site at www.flir.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains statements, including statements regarding the timing of FLIR's delivery under the contract, that are forward looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including the following: an inability of the Company to deliver the systems, a lack of sufficient funds required under the contract for the procurement of such systems, changes in the procurement program generally, the impact of competitive products and pricing, constraints on supplies of critical components, excess or shortage of production capacity, actual purchases under agreements, the amount and availability of appropriated government procurement funds generally and other risks discussed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002. In addition, such statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates, and general domestic and international economic conditions. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.