$1.9 billion contract for Italian firmÔÇÖs US unit

Italian firm Finmeccanica has announced its New Jersey-based DRS Technologies unit has won a $1.9 billion contract to supply the US armed forces with infrared technology.  The contract for the technology on driverÔÇÖs vision enhancers, or DVEs, was awarded to DRS alongside a second supplier. It will cover orders from the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and special operations; and will be on an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) basis. DVEs enable drivers to maneuver in conditions where their vision is likely to be severely obscured, such in situations where smoke, fog and sand may be present. The DVEs use advanced infrared imaging and display technologies to help users detect and navigate possible threats. "Our selection for this IDIQ contract is an acknowledgement that DRS demonstrated a high level of reliability coupled with expertise in applications," said Terry Murphy, president of DRS Technologies' Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA) business group.  ÔÇ£As we continue to drive down the cost of this technology, we expect these lifesaving benefits to make our DVEs as common in military vehicles as headlights are in automobiles,ÔÇØ he added. DRS, which is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, was awarded its first DVE contract in 2004. Since then it has delivered over 40,000 units for use with a range of vehicles. Components to the units are manufactured in the US by DRS operations in Dallas, Texas; Melbourne, Florida; and Walton Beach, Florida. DRS became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica after a merger between the two companies was announced in May last year. The Italian firm, which is headquartered in Rome, employs more than 73,000 people in over 100 countries worldwide.  ItalyÔÇÖs second-largest industrial group, it specialises in defence, security and aerospace, and is partly owned by the Italian government, which holds a total of 30 percent in shares. *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *