ESSI wins laser targeting contract

Engineered Support Systems Inc. won an $8.9 million order from the Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command in Warren, Mich., to provide high-tech targeting systems, the company said today.

The Knight Precision Targeting System consists of a laser designator/rangefinder, thermal imager, digital command and control, blended inertial/global positioning system navigation and targeting, and a self-defense weapon.

The company's Systems and Electronics Inc. subsidiary will produce 28 Knight vehicles, 31 mission equipment packages for fire support vehicles and miscellaneous spare parts in its facilities in St. Louis and West Plains, Mo. The unit has produced more than 120 Knight systems for the Army and Army National Guard. The Knight systems are currently used in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Based in St. Louis, Engineered Support Systems provides high-tech, integrated military electronics, support equipment and logistics services for all branches of the armed forces and for some foreign militaries. The company employs nearly 3,000 people and had revenue of $572.7 million for its fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2003.