Kongsberg receives $94 million order for CROWS remote weapon stations

The new RWS order is part of a contract, worth up to $1.498 billion, awarded in October 2022 which was the fourth consecutive five-year contract to Kongsberg for the delivery and support of the US Army CROWS.

Kongsberg has delivered more than 18,000 M151 and M153 CROWS systems to the US armed forces.

The M153 has a three-axis stabilised mount that can traverse through 360° and elevate the weapons between -20 and +60°. It is controlled via a joystick and control panel by a single operator seated within the armour of the host vehicle.

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Variants have been developed for a range of US military vehicles including the Stryker 8x8, M1A2 Abrams MBT and the CROWS-J, which adds an FGM-148 Javelin ATGM launcher to the standard M153 CROWS II, which will be fitted to the US Army's four Robotic Combat Vehicle – Light (RCV-L) UGV prototypes.

At the time of the 2022 announcement, Eirik Lie, president of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, said it was ‘important milestone'.

‘[It realises] the investments made in the Tech Refresh systems and bring those capabilities to new and existing customers both in the US and abroad.

‘CROWS Tech Refresh is the next generation of remote weapon stations. The Tech Refresh systems are designed to provide greater stand-off, increased precision, and networking capabilities as well as vastly improved situational awareness in addition to being backwards compatible.’

Related Equipment in Defence Insight

M153 Protector (CROWS II/RS4)