US Army Takes Next Step To Develop Sensor To See Through Fog of War

Contracts have been awarded to Raytheon and DRS Technologies to develop "Forward Looking Infrared" (3GEN FLIR). The contract is for 96 of these systems to be delivered at a cost of $154.4 million."

The plan is to outfit M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles with the new FLIR, which amounts to about 8,300 FLIR B-Kits for 4,150 vehicles, Madore said. The 3GEN FLIR will also go on the Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3).

“With an asymmetric battlefield, being able to ID your target at even greater ranges provides our commanders additional time to both understand and shape the battlefield to their advantage,” Lt. Col. Scott Madore, product manager for ground sensors with the Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, told reporters Thursday. “It allows our soldiers to detect, recognize and identify those enemy targets outside of threat ammunition ranges.”