General Dynamics Land Systems Canada has doled out several contracts for systems on the Canadian Army’s reconnaissance variant of the newly upgraded light armoured vehicle.
Last week, GDLS-C awarded a $20 million, multi-year contract to Montreal-based Revision Military for energy storage systems and announced a $100 million contract with a Thales-DRS Sustainment Systems partnership for mast mounted surveillance suites, operator control systems, engineering and support for LAV 6.0 recce surveillance system (LRSS) project.
The energy storage system, built around Revision’s NERV CENTR SWatPack scalable battery system, will power on-board sensor suites. The system can operate in a wide range of climatic conditions and, according to Revision, provides more silent watch time than 30 standard 6T format AGM batteries at less than half the weight.
“Power is possibly one of the most critical elements for success on the battlefield today, whether for the individual soldier to ensure uninterrupted performance of his powered gear or for situations where silent delivery of power in varying conditions over an eight hour time frame is essential,” explained Jonathan Blanshay, CEO of Revision. “Revision is a solutions provider that employs science, cutting-edge technology and an innovation-driven approach to solving complex battlefield problems. We are excited to demonstrate our capabilities in the field of energy storage and power management with this contract.”
The customized, ballistic-protected solution re-purposes the winch pocket on the LAV 6.0 recce vehicles and can be serviced in the field.
As the prime contractor of the Army’s tactical battle management system, Thales Canada was a natural partner for the mounted surveillance suites. Under the partnership with DRS Sustainment Systems, Thales will design, develop and qualify the Battlefield Operational Surveillance Software (BOSS) that enables soldiers to configure, control and monitor the surveillance suite sensors from a customized user interface.
The BOSS software suite will be integrated with DRS’ Surveillance and Battlefield Reconnaissance Equipment (SABRE) system, integrating radar, thermal imaging and laser systems on a stabilized mast.
