Soldiers Receiving Highest In High-tech To Keep Them Safe

By Kathy Roa
Special to the Voice

PICATINNY, N.J. -- Deployed U.S. military police units in Iraq are getting a new, high-tech armament system that is under development here that permits military personnel to remotely operate a weapon from the interior of an up-armored vehicle.

According to Lt. Col. Kevin P. Stoddard, product manager for Crew Served Weapons, the Army has approved sending the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station, known as CROWS, to the war zone as an urgent requirement.

The system is mounted on a Humvee, Stoddard said. It enables gunners to remotely identify, assess and engage insurgents more safely and at greater distances.

Currently, MP units are operating first-generation CROWS that have "shoot-on-the-move" stabilized, targeting platforms, day- and night-time sensors and fire-control capabilities to gain vantage points in challenging terrains.

"Soldiers in these units are providing valuable feedback to the project office here," he said.

"During a recent reconnaissance mission in Iraq, MPs using CROWS went out ahead of a convoy to gather intelligence and select a position," Stoddard said, explaining that after assessing the route, the CROWS team chose a position from which they spotted a terrorist preparing to attack the convoy.

"The MPs used the system's high-powered sensors to identify the insurgent and engage him with small-arms fire," he said.

Stoddard's office here continues to evaluate data received from Iraq and Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. where a second generation of CROWS is being tested.

While the system has undergone testing on Humvees, Stoddard said CROWS can be mounted on a number of other platforms for use by military units with different missions.

CROWS was developed in conjunction with industry partner RECON Optical Inc., Barrington, Ill.

RDECOM Magazine, January 2005