US Army Orders 27 More Armored Knights
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Dec 10/09: Textron Systems Corp. in Slidell, LA, receives a $10 million firm-fixed-price letter-contract for 27 M1200 Armored Knights. Work is to be performed in Slidell, LA, with an estimated completion date of Dec 31/10. One bid was solicited with one bid received by the U.S Army Contracting Command, AMSCC-TAC-ATBD in Warren, MI (W56HZV-09-C-0532).
The M1200 Armored Knight is used by Field Artillery Combat Observation and Lasing Team (COLT) targeters, and derives its name from the Knight sensor system it mounts. That system includes a laser designator/ rangefinder, a thermal imager, blended inertial/ GPS navigation and targeting, digital command and control, and a machine gun. Its mission is to provide precision far target location and targeting for both artillery and air-delivered weapons. Data received is automatically formatted within the fire support tactical data system for immediate digital transmission, which allows receiving units to take immediate action.
Textron representatives confirmed to DID that this contract is just for the basic ASV vehicles. The vehicles’ “Knight” turret and LRAS 3 system, which give the vehicle many of its capabilities, is the subject of a separate contract with DRS (now a subsidiary of Finmeccanica). The M707 Knight system can also be mounted on M1025A2 HMMWV jeeps and M1131 Stryker 8×8 armored Fire Support Vehicle, as the system was designed from the outset to be both platform and sensor independent.
