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BAE SYSTEMS receives $7.5 million U.S. navy contract for training systems

27 Mar 2002

Syosset, New York: BAE Systems will provide more tactical training systems in support of the U.S. military's TOW missile anti-tank weapons system under a $7.5 million contract awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command's Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida. The Reconnaissance & Surveillance Systems unit in Syosset, New York, will manufacture 122 field tactical training units for the U.S. Army. The units simulate the operation of the TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided) missile's target acquisition system.

The BAE Systems training unit works with the TOW's Improved Target Acquisition System (ITAS). Called I-TS (for ITAS Training System), the BAE Systems units help train anti-tank gunners to use the TOW in all-weather battlefield conditions. The units, in conjunction with ITAS, employ the latest night vision technology and computer-aided target tracking capabilities, and are also compatible with the U.S. Army's Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System

According to Robert Plumer, senior program manager at Syosset, I-TS "is the first field tactical trainer (FTT) to provide aided target tracking capabilities to simulate the full operational capabilities of the weapons system in training situations." Plumer said the embedded training feature permits an operator to simulate the weapon's functions without additional training equipment. When appended equipment (supplied with the FTT) is attached to the ITAS, multiple combatants can use it in force-on-force exercises to provide realistic battlefield training.

"The ITAS Training System has received high marks from the military for both performance and reliability," Plumer said. Since the inception of the program with a contract from the U.S. Army in 1994, 124 of the training systems have been delivered to the Army. Work under the new contract is expected to be completed in 2003. Funding and management for the program will be provided by the U.S. Army Simulation Training and Instrumentation Command/Close Combat Missile Systems (STRICOM/CCMS).

Since 1987, BAE Systems has delivered more than 2,275 anti-tank Precision Gunnery Training Systems, field tactical trainers and gunner training systems to the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and to other countries under Foreign Military Sales contracts.