Oct 30, 7:20 PM DRS wins $16.8 million contract Company will make optical systems for Army By Brian Monroe FLORIDA TODAY Terrorism. War. Securing our nation's borders. DRS Optronics will provide optical systems for the Army's Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System, shown here atop a Humvee. Image 2003, DRS Optronics Those are the three converging forces that have increased defense spending and propelled the revenue of companies tied to government work. That has translated into higher sales for prime contractors Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. With more work to do, there is more work to dole out to smaller, tech-savvy companies, including DRS Technologies. The Parsippany, N.J.-based company, which employs more than 600 people at two operations in Brevard County, recently won a $16.8 million contract from Raytheon Co. to provide optical systems for the U.S. Army's Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System. The work on the surveillance systems will be done by Melbourne-based DRS Optronics, which produces electro-optical systems, such as night-vision goggles, laser range finders and targeting systems for the military. The work will be done at the company's Palm Bay plant. Including the latest award, DRS has added more than $64 million in contracts related to the long-range surveillance program. The company is expected to deliver the components in May. The company's other operation in Brevard, DRS Tactical Systems, formerly Paravant, makes hardened computers designed for the intense environment of vibration, shocks and heat inside armored vehicles, including the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank and M2A3 Bradley personnel carrier. The latest award for DRS Optronics further strengthens the company's position as a "key supplier of . . . infrared ground-vehicle sighting, targeting and detection systems," said Fred L. Marion, president of DRS' Electro-Optical Systems Group. "DRS plays a crucial role in the Army's . . . modernization strategy for the 21st century," he said, adding that the advanced surveillance system is an important part of the electro-optical systems business segment. The surveillance system DRS is working on is designed to give troops on 24-hour reconnaissance missions an edge by identifying a far-off target -- a person, vehicle or enemy base -- before they can be detected themselves. The system, which can be mounted on a Humvee or set up on a tripod, uses special cameras -- infrared at night and another for day missions -- a laser range finder and a global-positioning system to pinpoint enemy encampments or scout terrain in harsh environments. DRS Optronics is working on a bevy of products, used on and above the battlefield. In May, the Army awarded DRS new contracts valued at $44 million to upgrade the Mast Mounted Sight for the U.S. Army's OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter. The sight sits above the helicopter's rotor blades and contains advanced infrared technology to gather imagery and target data during the day, at night or in harried battlefield conditions. Experts aren't surprised that DRS, with its ties to defense work, is acquiring large contracts for military equipment. The reason? Prime contractors have "raised their estimates for how fast they are growing, a lot of weapons need to be repaired and the Coast Guard is being refurbished," said Paul Nisbet, an aerospace and defense analyst for JSA Research in Newport, R.I. "All these things combined are bringing in more revenues than Wall Street expected." That trickles down when larger companies "subcontract more than they have. I expect the DRS's of the world to do very well," he said. On Thursday, DRS stock closed down 22 cents, or 0.9 percent, to finish the day at $24.10 in New York Stock Exchange trading http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/moneystoryB1031DRS.htm
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