Northrop Grumman awarded contract to provide rate sensor assemblies for the M1A1 Abrams Tank

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by General Dynamics Land Systems to supply LRS-2000 Rate Sensor Assembly units for the Stabilized Commander's Weapon Station (SCWS) on the US Army M1A1 Abrams tank.

The firm, fixed-price contract is valued at $18 million.

The Northrop Grumman LRS-2000 is a two-axis rate sensor developed specifically to support gun and turret stabilization applications with low random drift and high reliability. Based on Northrop Grumman's G-2000 dynamically-tuned gyroscope, it functions as part of a larger system that provides added protection from enemy gunfire or improvised explosive devices for the urban warfighter by allowing soldiers to fire the tank's machine gun from inside the tank.

"The LRS-2000 Rate Sensor Assembly offers the high performance needed for the SCWS program at a reasonable cost," said Gorik Hossepian, vice president of navigation and positioning systems for Northrop Grumman's Navigation Systems Division. "It will help to increase soldier safety and effectiveness in urban areas where attacks can come from many directions."

The LRS-2000 is currently in production with deliveries beginning in 2010. It features a robust design that meets or exceeds all of the M1A1 Abrams tank requirements. A key component of the LRS-2000, the G-2000 gyroscope provides high accuracy stabilization capabilities in a small package. Its accuracy is enhanced by a servo-electronics card that is specifically tailored to maximize the performance of the two axis gyroscope.

The G-2000 gyroscope has been in production since 1992 and more than 35,000 units have been delivered for a variety of military and commercial applications. It is the smallest dynamically-tuned gyroscope in production and offers high performance, small size, low cost and excellent reliability.

General Dynamics is the prime contractor for the SCWS program under a contract with the US Army Tank and Automotive Command.

Source: Northrop Grumman