Tag Archives: Teledyne Technologies Incorporated

Ground Forces

Ground Vehicles

Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, announced that it has received new orders worth $62.1 million from the U.S. Armed Services for its advanced, multi-mission robots. The U.S. Army, Navy, and other command centers placed orders for nearly 500 more Centaur unmanned ground systems, including additional spares, antennas, and payload mounting kits.

Teledyne FLIR Centaur
Teledyne FLIR Defense Receives $62 Million in Orders from U.S. Military for Centaur Unmanned Ground Vehicles

This latest award raises the value of the original Man Transportable Robot System Increment II (MTRS Inc. II) contract from roughly $190 million to more than $250 million.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams use the Teledyne FLIR Centaur ground robot to disable UneXploded Ordnance (UXO), improvised explosive devices, landmines, and to perform similar dangerous tasks. Operators can quickly attach different sensors and payloads to the robot to address other missions, including Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats.

In 2017, the Army chose Centaur as its MTRS Inc. II solution for a multi-year program of record. Since then, other U.S. military branches have opted to deploy Centaur to their EOD units as a new or replacement ground robot system. Since 2020, Teledyne FLIR has announced orders totaling more than 1,800 Centaurs from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

«Our Centaur platform continues to prove itself as one of the most versatile and sought after tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) to support America’s military», said Tom Frost, general manager of Unmanned Ground Systems at Teledyne FLIR Defense. «Our team is honored to play a role in providing technology U.S. warfighters depend on for risky and sometimes deadly missions».

«Centaur also can be used effectively for UXO clearance in hotspots such as Ukraine, and with global security threats on the rise, allied nations can leverage this multi-purpose robot to support a wide array of manned/unmanned operations», Frost added.

The Teledyne FLIR Centaur is a medium-sized UGV that provides a standoff capability to detect, confirm, identify, and dispose of hazards. Weighing roughly 160 pounds, the InterOperability Protocol (IOP)-compliant robot features an advanced Electro-Optical/InfraRed (EO/IR) camera suite, a manipulator arm that reaches over six feet, and the ability to climb stairs. Modular payloads can be used for CBRN detection and other missions.

Teledyne FLIR Defense also recently launched two newly upgraded ground robot systems – the PackBot 525 man-transportable UGV and the Kobra 725 heavy payload UGV.​

Deliveries are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023.

Navy

LCS Hardware

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated announced that its subsidiary, Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc., was awarded an $18 million contract from Northrop Grumman to manufacture four additional Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM) units for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

Surface-to-Surface Missile Module (SSMM)
Teledyne Brown Engineering Awarded Additional $18 Million Contract for LCS Hardware

Teledyne Brown Engineering will manufacture, assemble and test the SSMMs at the company’s main facility in Huntsville, Alabama. This is Teledyne’s second award to build the hardware, which initially began under contract in September 2019. Once the systems are complete, they will be integrated with Launch Control Assemblies and other equipment into the modules. Teledyne Brown Engineering, along with Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy, will validate the system using SSMM-specific software and emulators.

The SSMM is a modular weapons system, which fires Longbow Hellfire Missiles and complements the Gun Mission Module (GMM), also manufactured by Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville. These modules provide additional capabilities to the Littoral Combat Ships which are used for defense against swarming Fast Attack Craft/Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FAC/FIAC), counter-piracy, maritime interdiction, and security missions.

«We are pleased to announce the continuation of our collaboration with Northrop Grumman to deliver state-of-the-art enhancements to our nation’s military», stated Jan Hess, President of Teledyne Brown Engineering.

Teledyne Brown Engineering has supported this program and its mission for over a decade building Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules.