MCKINNEY, Texas, April 25 (UPI) -- A $70 million contract was awarded to Raytheon for development of technology that will protect U.S. Future Combat System vehicles.
The "hard-kill" Active Protection System (APS) uses radar and lightning-quick electronics to knock out rockets and other close-range threats before they reach their targets.
"APS will shield troops and their vehicles from enemy threats," said Raytheon Vice President Glynn Raymer. "Using a combination of sensor technologies and precision counter munitions instead of heavy armor, the new system will also help FCS meet survivability requirements."
The general idea of the APS is similar to the much-larger scale ballistic missile defense system being developed by the United States in which incoming targets are detected upon launch and intercepted by a smaller missile.
Raytheon has been successfully testing a diminutive rocket that can be mounted on a Stryker armored vehicle and is automatically launched whenever an enemy combatant fires a rocket-propelled grenade.
Future Combat System is the U.S. Army's high-tech and highly mechanized strategy for 21st Century operations. A key component is the Stryker, which will include the Raytheon APS as part of an overall suite of "hit avoidance" protection equipment.
Raytheon was selected as developer of the APS earlier this month. The contract from BAE Systems that was announced Tuesday specifies three phases of development with the initial phase worth $10 million.
