The order is the first award under a five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract that could reach $1 billion. The contract is managed by the Army’s Program Executive Office Soldier at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

BAE Systems’ microbolometer thermal imaging technology enables warfighters to see deep into the battlefield in all weather conditions, both day and night, and increases the warfighter’s surveillance and target acquisition range.

“This contract is important for the warfighter,” said Bruce Zukauskas, director of thermal weapon sight programs for BAE Systems. “The entire BAE Systems thermal weapon sight team is ready and committed to deliver sights to meet the Army’s current and future requirements driven by the global war on terrorism.”

BAE Systems is already under contract to produce and deliver more than 29,600 Thermal Weapon Sites II (TWS-II). The five-year, $295 million contract is administered by the Communications-Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. To date, the company has delivered more than 11,000 TWS-II thermal weapon sights to meet critical Army fielding requirements in support of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The TWS-II program produces sights for small-arms, surveillance and fire-control applications ranging from individual rifles to medium and heavy machine guns and mounted weapon systems. BAE Systems operates two microbolometer foundries and has delivered more than 50,000 microbolometer-based imagers to date.