The U.S. Army Contracting Command has released a draft request for proposals for contractors interested in new functional ruggedized displays for a Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations.
In a recent Federal Opportunities notice, the Army announced plans to modify the M153 Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS).
United States military operations take place worldwide and in all types of terrains as well as under various environmental conditions. The use of Remote Weapon Stations (RWS) provides both lethality and survivability to the warfighter who can remain under armor in a safe environment while operating the RWS. The Remote Weapon Station M153 ruggedized display system provides pertinent data to the safe operation of the RWS.
The CROWS Ruggedized Display (CRD) system allows the user to operate the RWS and fully utilize the thermal and day camera by being able to view the video on the display. RWS diagnostic functions and system settings will be accessible via the CRD system as well.
The Government intends to evaluate and award, based on the best overall approach; up to two fixed amount, stand-alone Other Transaction Agreements (OTA). The maximum quantity of the follow-on Agreement or contact will be 3,000 CRD systems.
As to CROWS, this system is a weapon-mounted turret, able to rotate 360 degrees, that adapts to four standard weapons – the M2, MK19, M240, and the M249.
The weapons system is designed to be mounted on top of a variety of combat vehicles and is remotely controlled by an operator located inside the vehicle compartment. Remote operations of the CROWS allows greater protection from direct enemy fire.
