The Army handed Leonardo DRS a $99 million contract Monday to develop next-generation Mortar Fire Control Systems for the service, according to a press release the company sent out Tuesday morning.
The firm fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract charges the vendor with producing and delivering fire control systems for mortar weapons and programs, the press release says.
“Leonardo DRS is uniquely qualified for this program because of its extensive catalogue of technology and experience in providing advanced, ruggedized and networked computing systems across the U.S. Army inventory,” said Dennis Crumley, senior vice president and general manager of Land Electronics at Leonardo DRS.
“We are proud to have been selected for this important contract supporting Army modernization and look forward to partnering with the program offices to support our warfighters with this enhanced next-generation mortar and fire control computing capability.”
The MFCS, housed in the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition, ties mortars to “the digital battlefield” and affords control of the system to Mortar Carrier Vehicles, according to the JPEO.
The system is equipped with ruggedized hardware for different weather and vehicles, which provide capabilities like a highly accurate pointing device, a navigation/positioning system and digital communications capabilities, according to the JPEO. Such capabilities allow for mortars to be controlled while on the move, meaning MFCS can get mortars to stop, fire and move in less than a minute.
That’s down from current mortar capabilities, which require eight minutes to stop, fire and move during the day, and around 12 minutes at night.
The mortar’s accuracy is also improved by a factor of three, according to the JPEO.