Raytheon Technologies has a big presence in McKinney north of Dallas. It also has a new name, having rebranded late last month as RTX. And last week it announced one more bit of news: It’s been awarded a $117.5 million contract by the U.S. Army for “low-rate initial production of 3rd Generation Forward Looking Infrared B-Kit sensors.”
Also known as 3GEN FLIR, the advanced targeting sensor systems “enhance lethality, survivability, and situational awareness in austere environments, providing combat overmatch for the Army’s ground combat platforms,” RTX said in a statement.
McKinney will be the primary work location for the project, RTX said.
‘A critical battlefield edge’
“This technology supports the U.S. Army’s modernization effort to ensure the force is ready to address near-peer competitors,” Torrey Cady, VP of Electro-Optical & Infrared Solutions, said in a statement. “Our technological advancements in the sensors reduce latency and give military forces a critical battlefield edge by exceeding overall performance of prior generation systems.”
Under the contract, RTX will deliver 3GEN FLIR B-Kit sensors for the Army’s combat platforms, including advanced Abrams Main Battle Tanks and an option for “optionally manned fighting vehicles.”
Provides ‘significant standoff for target detection’
RTX says the 3GEN FLIR B-Kit is “platform agnostic,” delivering “a common operating picture” for future combat ground vehicles. It also provides “significant standoff” for target detection, recognition, and identification, the company said, adding, “The advanced sensors ensure high-resolution imagery is delivered to the right people in any environment so they can make the right decisions.”
The company said its dual-band infrared system creates high-res images that “help military commanders see in the dead of night and adverse battlefield and weather conditions even at great distances to aid mission planning and execution.”
The company added that it has delivered more than 25,000 second-generation FLIR sensors over the past 20 years, and applied the lessons learned from 2GF development and production to the 3GEN FLIR sensor production.
Renamed one century later
Known for 101 years as Raytheon since its 1922 founding in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company announced its rebranding as RTX last month in a LinkedIn post.
The rebranding came three years after Raytheon’s merger with aerospace manufacturer United Technologies Corp., forming Raytheon Technologies.
RTX “is a nod to the past and a nod to the future,” CEO Greg Hayes said at an investor meeting in late June, according to Defense News. At the meeting, Hayes noted that United Technologies’ ticker symbol was UTX and Raytheon’s was RTN, so the new RTX monicker further cements the two companies on their continuing mission.
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