L3 Technologies ISR Sensor Selected for US Army Shadow UAV

Published: 10 Oct 2018

L3 Technologies has announced that it has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract valued at up to $454 million from the U.S. Army for the next-generation WESCAM MX-10D electro-optical/infrared and laser designator (EO/IR/LD) sensor suite. These modernized ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) systems operate from the Army’s Tactical Unmanned Air Systems Shadow (RQ-7Bv2) and provide an advanced capability to collect critical information for use by all members of an air-ground maneuver team. This is a five-year contract, with an option for the U.S. Army to extend for an additional five years.

“L3’s WESCAM imaging and targeting turrets deliver the highest-precision situational awareness to our customers to help them overcome emerging regional and global threats,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, L3’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. “We are focused on developing new state-of-the-art multi-domain C6ISR technologies in support of the U.S. Army’s Modernization Strategy.”

“The MX-10D is proven and successfully operational on the Shadow,” added Jeff Miller, Corporate Senior Vice President and President of ISR Systems. “This win secures L3’s prime position on a major platform in the UAV space and expands our growth opportunities for international EO/IR users considering surveillance and targeting upgrades.”

L3 will continue to invest in research and development as the U.S. Army will be evaluating options for its next-generation Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS) program, the replacement for Shadow, targeted for 2025.

Posted by Mike Ball Mike is our resident technical editor here at Unmanned Systems Technology. Combining his passions for teaching, advanced engineering and all things unmanned, Mike keeps a watchful eye over everything related to the unmanned technical sector. With over 10 years’ experience in the unmanned field and a degree in engineering, Mike’s been heading up our technical team here for the last 8 years.