L-3 wins $70 million Army-Marine work

L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., New York, won a contract, worth potentially $70 million, to build a next-generation tactical surveying system for the Army and the Marine Corps, the company announced this week.

Under terms of the contract, initially worth $2.65 million, L-3 will deliver test hardware and support for the Improved Position and Azimuth Determining System.

IPADS is planned to replace the Position and Azimuth Determining System, an inertial surveying system that Army and Marine Corps surveyors use to determine position, elevation, grid coordinates and azimuth of a particular location, from either an airborne or fixed position. These determining systems provide a common grid for weapons and target acquisition systems.

If the services agree to a full rate production, the contract could be optioned through 2009.

The work will be completed by the company's space and navigation division. The division will use L-3's Compact Tactical Surveyor solution, built around a gyroscope navigation and pointing system.

"This is a major competitive win for L-3 S&N and clearly demonstrates our ability to take legacy products and adapt them to today's requirements in a timely and cost effective manner," said Paul Wengen, who is president of L-3 Communications' space and navigation division.