The US Army has awarded Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace a $1.5 billion contract to extend its supply of Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations (CROWS).
CROWS are stabilized mounts to carry out on-the-move target acquisition and fire-burst attacks while protected inside armored vehicles.
Generally including sensor suite and fire control software, CROWS supports artillery from machine guns to anti-tank systems.
“We are extending our collaboration with the US Army as we have since 2007 enabling KONGSBERG, together with the customer, to provide the soldiers with the best remotely controlled weapon solution,” Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace President Eirik Lie said.
Under the five-year agreement, the company will deliver its Kongsberg Protector remote weapon stations family, which are also in service with NATO and allied forces.
The latest order is expected to provide additional protection for warfighters in combat vehicles, facilities, and vessels.
Out of 23,000 systems distributed among 26 nations, Kongsberg has shipped more than 18,000 M151 and M153 CROWS variants to the US military.
“With this award, KONGSBERG and the U.S. Government will be able to fully realize the investments made in the Tech Refresh systems and bring those capabilities to new and existing customers both in the US and abroad,” Kongsberg Executive Vice President Eirik Tord Jensen explained.
“The Tech Refresh systems are designed to provide greater stand-off, increased precision, and networking capabilities as well as vastly improved situational awareness in addition to being backwards compatible.”
