Raytheon has been awarded a $285 million contract to produce and deliver improved target acquisition systems (ITAS) to the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. The five-year contract awarded by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville, AL., extends Army procurement of the systems and marks the start of the U.S. Marine Corps system acquisition. The Army procured 709 ITAS units from 1999 through 2004.

ITAS is an advanced electro-optic target acquisition fire control system. It guides the tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) weapon system to its targets with high precision. The targeting system significantly increases TOW's effective range, improves the weapon's ability to hit a target with minimal collateral damage and enables a soldier to engage and destroy targets from safe distances. ITAS's second-generation forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor provides long-range reconnaissance and surveillance capability in all weather and battlefield conditions.

ITAS is designed and produced by Raytheon Network Centric Systems in McKinney and Dallas, Texas, with some components manufactured in El Segundo and Santa Barbara, CA., Largo, FL., and Midland, Ontario, Canada.

This award is part of the 2006 supplemental request. The initial purchases for this contract are valued at $285 million, including 623 ITAS and 33 spare sets: 438 are for the Marines, 218 are for the Army. Under the five-year option, the Army may purchase up to 1600 additional units, valued at more than $750 million. The total five-year contract with options is valued at $1.1 billion.

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