Back to news

September 28, 2020 | International, Land, C4ISR, Security

Air Force awards laser-armed RADBO contract to Parsons

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has awarded a nearly $40 million contract to Parsons to produce ground vehicles that can clear mines or unexploded ordnance from airfields — using a laser.

The package covers the procurement of 13 Recovery of Airbase Denied by Ordnance (RADBO) vehicles, as well as three spares. The system is made up of a Cougar MRAP, Parsons' three-kilowatt ZEUS laser weapon, and an arm assembly that can move debris or other objects out of the way.

The idea behind the RADBO is to allow airmen to clear threats from current or future airfields – hardly the laser warfare capability sought by Pentagon planners for decades, but still a potentially important step, as it represents the first DoD ground-based laser system to be ordered into full production.

The service awarded Parsons the sole-source contract on Sept. 23. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Ala., with a completion date of Sept. 2023. According to a 2018 video from the Air Force's Installation and Mission Support Center, the majority of development work on the RADBO design was done at the Army's Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville.

Parsons claims the ZEUS design can hit targets “more than 300 meters away from the vehicle and is powerful enough to detonate small submunitions from cluster bombs, land mines, general purposed bombs and thick-cased artillery rounds,” per a company announcement.

“This is Parsons innovation: delivering a game changing warfighting product,” Hector Cuevas, Parsons executive vice president of missile defense and C5ISR, said in a statement. “We're proud to partner with the Air Force in deploying this critical force protection and mission enabling technology that will greatly increase safe and effective explosive ordnance disposal operations.”

https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2020/09/25/air-force-awards-laser-armed-radbo-contract-to-parsons/

On the same subject

  • Read the essential guide to workflow automation for security teams | Tines

    July 30, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security

    Read the essential guide to workflow automation for security teams | Tines

    Can workflow automation solve your security team's biggest challenges? Our guide explores what's next for workflow automation and shares best practices.

  • A future Bradley replacement and a new troop vehicle | Defense News Weekly Full Episode, 10.16.21

    November 1, 2021 | International, Land

    A future Bradley replacement and a new troop vehicle | Defense News Weekly Full Episode, 10.16.21

    See the newest tech and hear from leadership in this special episode of Defense News Weekly covers the Association of the U.S. Army conference.

  • Exportations françaises d’armement : net rebond attendu en 2021

    June 3, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Exportations françaises d’armement : net rebond attendu en 2021

    Troisième pays exportateur d'armement en 2020, derrière les États-Unis et la Russie, avec 4,9 milliards d'euros de ventes, la France s'attend à un net rebond en 2021, notamment suite à la signature de contrats qui ont été discutés mais n'ont pas pu aboutir en raison de la crise sanitaire, et surtout à « l'entrée en vigueur des trois contrats de vente de l'avion de combat Rafale pour 7,7 milliards d'euros », comme l'a souligné Hervé Grandjean, porte-parole du ministère des Armées, qui a présenté, ce mercredi, le rapport sur les exportations d'armement en 2020 remis au Parlement. « Le contrat signé avec la Grèce est entré dans le carnet de commandes 2021. Notre objectif est une entrée en vigueur des contrats avec l'Égypte et la Croatie d'ici à fin 2021 », a-t-il ajouté. « Au total, l'Europe est la première destination de nos exportations avec 25% de la valeur, contre 17% en 2017. C'est la seconde fois que nous vendons autant en Europe, hors l'année 2019 (47%) marquée par des contrats exceptionnels», souligne Hervé Grandjean. Le Moyen-Orient a représenté 24% du total, l'Asie-Océanie 22%, et l'Afrique 16%. Le Figaro, La Tribune et L'Usine Nouvelle du 3 juin

All news