L3 Technologies’ WESCAM business has won multiple MX™-Series electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) product and in-service support contracts year-to-date from military and airborne law enforcement customers totaling more than $300 million in orders.
This reflects a heightened demand and sales momentum for L3’s market-leading imaging systems for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) platforms, as well as from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and customers in North and South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Pacific Rim region.
(See WESCAM’s MX-10. Fully Digital. High Definition. A Small, Multi-Sensor, Multi-Spectral Imaging System in a single LRU configuration. Ideal for Low-Altitude, Tactical Surveillance & SAR missions requiring low-weight installation flexibility. Airborne Installations include Aerostat, Fixed-Wing, Rotary-Wing, UAV. Courtesy of WESCAM and YouTube)
“We are very pleased that customers around the world look to L3 for the essential ISR technologies required to keep missions moving forward,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, L3’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
“The collective orders for 2017 reaffirm that we are not only creating and investing in the right products, but also that we’re aligning our offerings with our customers’ needs.”
Increased Demand for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The demand for L3 WESCAM’s EO/IR turrets for use on board UAS platforms continued to grow, with more than 60 units ordered for deployment across six countries.
The systems will support worldwide defense and security missions from six different UAS platforms that are active across both land and maritime domains.
Systems ordered include surveillance and targeting configurations consisting of the small and tactical MX™-10 through L3’s largest and most powerful MX product, the MX™-25.
“L3 WESCAM’s MX-Series offers critical EO/IR imaging capabilities that are mission-proven,” said Jeff Miller, L3’s Senior Vice President and President of its Sensor Systems business segment.”
“We are also committed to providing customers with a much-valued support infrastructure that maintains the full functionality of MX products through their life cycle.
“We expect this demand to continue through the remainder of the year.”
MX Systems Remain Key Solution Components for Industry OEMs
L3 was awarded a number of contracts that continue to expand the company’s presence on industry-leading OEM platforms.
By the end of June, more than 60 MX systems were ordered from a collection of eight global OEM customers. Fitted to both fixed- and rotary-wing manned and unmanned platforms, the systems will support EO/IR surveillance and targeting missions for end users who operate across 10 different countries.
MX systems are commercial-off-the-shelf products that are delivered on a short timeline, complete with all the technologies needed to fulfill the mission profiles required by OEMs and their customers.
(Learn More. See the L3 WESCAM Next Generation target acquisition and tracking system, the Advanced Video Tracker. Courtesy of WESCAM and YouTube)
Additional Growth for In-Service Support Business
L3 experienced a steady growth of in-service support contracts from customers that operate military platforms equipped with MX-Series systems fielded across the U.S. and U.K. One of the orders included a five-year in-service support plan (one base year and four option years) for the MX systems procured for the U.S. Air Force’s AC-130 gunship program.
These systems will be maintained out of several L3 WESCAM Authorized Service Centers (WASCs) located in the U.S.; the Eglin, Hurlburt and Cannon Air Force Bases; and the Dahlgren System Integration Laboratory.
This is the second five-year term option the Air Force has executed in support of the AC-130 gunship program.
L3 WESCAM is a world leader in the design and manufacture of stabilized, multi-spectral imaging systems.
