US Army awards Northrop Grumman Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinders delivery order valued at $142.7 million

Northrop Grumman Corporation has received a delivery order award from the US Army valued at $142.7 million to provide over 500 Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinders (LLDR) under a five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract.

Northrop Grumman's LLDR accurately targets enemy positions during the day, at night and in nearly all battlefield conditions including haze, smoke, fog and rain. It provides a unique capability to forward observers and air controllers, and enables commanders to see the enemy and decide how to act with confidence. Using an eye-safe laser wavelength, the system recognizes targets, finds the range to a target, and fixes target locations for laser-guided, GPS-guided, and conventional munitions. This lightweight, interoperable system uniquely provides range finding and targeting information to other digital battlefield systems.

Northrop Grumman's Laser Systems business unit has delivered and fielded more than 1,300 LLDR systems to US military forces supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The LLDR system has proven itself to be of tremendous benefit to our nation's warfighters," said Gordon Stewart, Northrop Grumman's Laser Systems vice president and general manager. "At Northrop Grumman, we recognize and appreciate the need to consistently deliver high quality solutions to our customers that meet their specified mission requirements, while remaining on cost and on schedule. The LLDR is but one example of the company's commitment to our customers."

This marks the second delivery order award to Northrop Grumman under an ID/IQ contract from the Army that has a not-to-exceed value of $599 million. The first delivery order award was issued in Oct. 2009 and was valued at $72.7 million.

Northrop Grumman Laser Systems is one of the world's leading manufacturers of military Electro-Optical (EO) targeting systems. These include ground-based (man portable, handheld, and vehicle mounted) EO imaging/ranging systems for target location, laser designators/markers for precise guidance of smart munitions, and airborne laser rangefinders and designators fielded onboard many of the world's most sophisticated manned and unmanned aircraft.

Source: Northrop Grumman