Nichols Martin
FLIR Systems has received $32M in orders to provide the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force with robotic systems designed to assist in explosive ordnance disposal.
The company said Monday it will provide over 250 Centaur UGVs under the Army's Man Transportable Robotic System Increment II program.
Centaur is designed to help warfighters deactivate and dispose of explosive ordnance and other hazards such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
The medium-sized, 160-pound robotic system detects, identifies and removes hazards for EOD missions.
The Army tapped FLIR in 2017 for Centaur's production under a $150M contract that covers the recent orders. The company received $97M in orders for 750 Centaur units over the past 12 months.
Tom Frost, vice president and general manager for unmanned ground systems at FLIR's unmanned and integrated solutions business, said Centaur offers modern electro-optical infrared cameras, communication systems and controllers, as well as simplified software updates.
The Army also awarded Endeavor Robotics, now part of FLIR, a five-year, $109M contract for Common Robotic System-Heavy, another program for EOD robotic systems. FLIR offers the Kobra robot under this separate program.
