FLIR Systems attains multi-million dollars funding contract from the US Army for ground robots sustainment

26 Jan 2021

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FLIR Systems, Inc. announced that it has received an additional US$ 30.1 million contract from the United States (U.S.) Army for sustainment efforts, tied in part to the service’s Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II (MTRS Inc. II) and Common Robotic System-Heavy (CRS-H) ground robot programme.

IDIQ contract

The contract raises the maximum value on the company’s existing Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to US$ 88 million, covering maintenance, parts and overall sustainment support for the entire FLIR unmanned ground systems family of small, medium and large robots used by the Army.

“We’re proud to be supporting the U.S. Army on two vital programmes of record designed to confront a new generation of threats on the battlefield,” said Tom Frost, Vice President for Unmanned Ground Systems in the Unmanned and Integrated Solutions business at FLIR Systems.

Delivering lifesaving robotic technology

In 2019, the US Army selected the FLIR Kobra robot as its CRS-H platform

Tom Frost adds, “From the Kobra and Centaur platforms to our smaller PackBot and FirstLook robots, we are well positioned to provide high-quality, cost-effective sustainment efforts over these systems’ lifespan and deliver lifesaving robotic technology to America’s warfighters.”

In 2019, the US Army selected the FLIR Kobra robot as its CRS-H platform. The five-year production contract is worth up to US$ 109 million to build upwards of 350 unmanned ground vehicles. In November, the Army announced it had begun fielding CRS-H.

Modular payloads for CBRN detection

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams will use the system to perform a range of missions, such as disarming vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and other heavy-duty jobs. Modular payloads can be added for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) detection and other tasks.

In 2017, the Army selected the medium-sized Centaur robot as its MTRS Inc. II solution. FLIR is delivering systems under that multi-year programme of record, valued at more than US$ 150 million upon award, including options. Since then, other U.S. military branches have opted to deploy Centaur as well.

Centaur unmanned ground systems

Over the last year, FLIR Systems has announced multiple orders that total nearly US$ 100 million for more than 750 Centaur unmanned ground systems from the US Army, US Air Force, US Navy, and US Marine Corps.

In addition to its use for bomb disposal efforts, Centaur operators can quickly attach different sensors and payloads to the robot, in order to address other missions, including CBRN threats.

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