UK MOD awards DRS Technologies $21m follow-on order for Heavy Weapon Thermal Sights
DRS Technologies, Inc., A Finmeccanica Company, announced today that it has been issued a $21-million order for Heavy Weapon Thermal Sights (HWTS) from the United Kingdom (UK) Ministry of Defence.
The work will be carried out by the DRS Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Acquisition (RSTA) business group’s operations located in Melbourne, Florida and Dallas, Texas. Deliveries have already commenced and will continue through 2013.
Lightweight, affordable and reliable, DRS’ HWTS employs proven 25-micron, uncooled Vanadium Oxide technology to enable the warfighter to see what cannot be seen with the naked eye and look through darkness, smoke, dust, and fog.
The sights can be used for a range of man-portable applications, including mounting on weapons carried by individual warfighters. In addition to providing users with menu-based, push-button controls for fast and easy polarity, brightness and reticle adjustment, the HWTS is equipped with a 103-mm telescope and 3X e-zoom capability. Using standard L91 tactical batteries, the sights are powered by lightweight, long-life battery packs that are easy to insert in combat.
“Around the globe, our Thermal Weapon Sights have demonstrated their ability to maximize warfighters’ capability while enhancing their survivability,” said RSTA president Terry Murphy. “We’re proud to offer these critical assets to the UK’s Ministry of Defence soldiers - and we are pleased to increase our capabilities internationally.”
Source: DRS
More from Land Warfare
-
FIA 2026: MBDA launches low-cost interceptor for short-range air defence
At FIA 2026, MBDA launched its Counter Mass Interceptor (CMI) which the company says is a mass-producible, low-cost effector for fire-and-forget engagements at range and altitude.
-
“Timelines are measured in seconds”: tackling the UAS threat with dispersed defences
Small uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) have transformed the battlespace, posing a complex threat across all domains. Militaries now need counter-UAS (CUAS) capabilities that defeat the danger while meeting demands around readiness, manoeuvrability and adaptability, according to Mike Spina, Director, Global Sales and Business Development for Targeting and Sensor Systems (TSS) at L3Harris Technologies.
-
“No single technology is enough”: why an integrated approach to uncrewed warfare is essential
In Conversation… Ahmet Akyol, CEO of ASELSAN, talks to Shephard’s Gerrard Cowan about how the rapid evolution of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) is transforming the battlespace, with militaries focused on both deploying these platforms to maximum effect and developing the defensive systems needed to counter them.
-
Lasers heat up for counter-drone option as DroneLight tackles the big question
Using lasers to defeat drones promises to solve the dilemma of using expensive kinetic effects to kill platforms worth a few hundred dollars. While maintaining thermal output to provide the effects can be a technical hurdle, Israel’s Esh-Tech is one company working on a solution.