Melbourne-based DRS Systems Inc. has won another $23 million from the U.S. Navy to make an anti-missile defense product designed to keep military rotorcraft such as helicopters safe during high-stakes missions.
While the contract came from the Navy, it is funded by, and benefits, multiple military branches, according to a March 18 Department of Defense (DoD) announcement. The AN/AAQ-45 Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasures System (DAICS) detects and targets shoulder-fired, vehicle launched and other infrared missiles.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory originally developed and evaluated DAICS in response to a 2015 urgent operational needs statement approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to Aviationist magazine.
After successful testing, the Department of Defense contracted DRS Systems to outfit HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters used for high-stakes rescues and evacuations. These helicopters have been made famous by the U.S. Air Force 56th Rescue Squadron, which operates on short notice around the globe.
The new $23 million dispensation keeps DAICS engineering work happening until June 2025. It is an extension of a previous $32 million contract that expires this year.
While some military branches are divesting themselves of Pave Hawk fleets — which were made by Sikorsky Aircraft, a company acquired by Lockeed Martin (NYSE: LMT) in 2015 — the usefulness of DAICS won't fade. Now, the Lockheed HH-60W “Jolly Green II” combat rescue helicopters replacing Pave Hawks in military fleets also are armored with the AN/AAQ-45 system.
DRS Systems’s efforts on the project are managed by its Electro-Optical & Infrared Systems department in Melbourne, which is led by Senior Vice President and General Manager Jerry Hathaway. DRS Systems was founded in 1968.
DRS Systems did not respond to an Orlando Business Journal inquiry by the time of publication.
Sign up here for The Beat, Orlando Inno’s free newsletter. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
