Recon Provides $24.8M in Cameras for SHARP Recon Pods
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Recon/Optical Inc. in Barrington, IL is being awarded a $24.8 million modification to definitize a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-04-C-0120) for the procurement of 12 SHAred Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP) Sensors. Recon/Optical is currently supplying CA-279/M and CA-279/H digital reconnaissance cameras to the U.S. Navy for the F/A 18E/F Super Hornet SHARP pod program.
SHARP represents the U.S. Navy’s next-generation reconnaissance capability, and provides a quantum leap in digital reconnaissance. It is currently deployed on board Navy aircraft carriers, and derivatives of these cameras are also in production for several foreign allies.
Recon/Optical’s CA-270 digital camera family simultaneously produces both infrared and visible spectrum images from low to medium altitudes, providing the user with day/night, near real-time data for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). The CA-270 family also incorporates a patented digital framing array and step frame technology to provide wide area coverage stereo imagery with both high resolution and excellent geometric fidelity.
The SHARP system was developed by a government and industry team composed of Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC; Boeing; Recon/Optical, Inc.; L-3 Communications; and the U.S. Navy. While the initial payload suite provides advanced day/night imaging and real- time data linking to the F/A-18F Super Hornet, Raytheon designed the pod to be highly adaptable to many sensor payloads and a wide range of aircraft.
Work will be performed in Barrington, IL (32%); Mason, OH (30%); Chelmsford, MA (8%); Waterloo, Canada (5%); Burlington, MA (4%); Rockford, Ill. (3%); Radford, Va. (3%); Leesburg, Va. (1.5%); Minneapolis, MN (1.5%); and various locations throughout the United States (12%), and is expected to be complete in August 2007. Contract funds will not expire at the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
Note that Recon/Optical also provides the U.S. Army’s CROWS remotely operated machineguns for Hummers and M1117 Guardians, which we recently covered here in DID.
