L3 wins $454M Army unmanned payload contract

L3 Technologies has won a five-year $454 million contract to build electro-optic infrared laser designator payloads for the Army's fleet of "Shadow" unmanned aircraft.

The Army received two bids for the contract, according to the Defense Department's Wednesday awards digest.

Deltek data indicates L3 is required to build up to eight production-ready payloads for the first delivery order, then help integrate the payloads onto the Shadow platforms for initial qualification testing and first article testing.

L3 could build up to 400 payloads over the contract's full duration. Shadow is a tactical unmanned aircraft that provides reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and force protection for brigade combat teams in near-real-time during day, night and limited adverse weather conditions.