L-3 CyTerra Wins Pentagon Contract for State-of-the-Art Detector That Identifies Buried Landmines, Explosives, and Weapons
L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) announced today that its CyTerra(L-3 CyTerra) subsidiary has been awarded an AN/PSS-14 Mine DetectingSet Full Rate Production contract from the U.S. ArmyCommunications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command AcquisitionCenter - Washington. L-3 CyTerra will deliver up to 17,000 AN/PSS-14Mine Detecting Sets, as well as Sweep Monitoring Systems for training,Training Target Sets, and worldwide training and support over aten-year period, including options.
The anticipated value of the contract over its ten-year life is inexcess of $300 million, with a first order value of approximately $24million. "This award from the U.S. Army confirms that our recentacquisition of CyTerra has been strategic to the continued success ofexpanding L-3's product offering to military markets," noted MichaelT. Strianese, interim chief executive officer and chief financialofficer of L-3 Communications. "Additionally, L-3 CyTerra will alsoprove to be a key building block in the expansion of L-3's homelandsecurity offerings." L-3 acquired CyTerra on March 3, 2006.
As U.S. troops continue to operate in one of the world's mostheavily mined regions, the United States Army will now have the mostcapable mine detector equipment ever deployed. Unlike earliergenerations of equipment that relied on metal detection alone, theAN/PSS-14 combines metal detection with ground penetrating radar.Weighing only nine pounds, the unit detects both metallic andlow-metallic anti-personnel and anti-tank mines in all types of soil.
"We are committed to continuing our work with the Army and theDepartment of Defense to put this new equipment in the hands of oursoldiers as quickly as possible," said Craig Coy, president and chiefoperating officer of the L-3 Homeland Security Group. "Mine detectionis one of the riskiest procedures in the military, and this technologysignificantly improves the speed and safety of mine clearanceoperations for U.S. soldiers. The accelerated deployment of the systemmeans that we will be able to provide our ground troops with the mostsophisticated equipment available today."
David Fine, president of L-3 CyTerra added, "Our technologydramatically enhances the capability of our soldiers to readily findand locate buried mines in all types of soil and terrain. We're proudof our partnership with the Army, which has worked so aggressively todevelop this breakthrough mine detection technology."
The AN/PSS-14 was developed under the U.S. Army's Hand-heldStandoff Mine Detection System (HSTAMIDS) program. It will be used inconjunction with other mine clearing tools, such as heavy equipmentfitted with special plows, and the strategic use ofcounter-explosives.
The lightweight AN/PSS-14, which folds up into a compact package,allows soldiers to easily operate the system while clearingminefields. The unit has been shown in U.S. Army trials to be capableof detecting nearly 100% of mines in all terrain, with a minimum offalse alarms.
To date, L-3 CyTerra has already delivered more than 2,000AN/PSS-14 Mine Detecting Sets to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corpson a previous contract, and partners with Tobyhanna Army Depot supportand training for the units worldwide.
Headquartered in Orlando, FL and founded in 2000, L-3 CyTerracurrently serves a broad customer base that includes theTransportation Security Administration (TSA), the Department ofHomeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Army and Navy, the Defense AdvancedResearch Projects Agency (DARPA) and several foreign militaries. L-3CyTerra is a leader in the development and manufacture of a number ofsophisticated sensors for the military and homeland security markets.The company's threat detection capabilities include the AN/PSS-14next-generation U.S. Army mine detector, advanced through-wall radarand explosive detection sensors for checkpoints. Its products are usedby the U.S. Army as their standard for portable land mine detection.L-3 CyTerra's explosives detection gateways and see-through buildingdetectors are new products being introduced as first-of-breed nextgeneration sensors.
Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leadingprovider of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)systems, secure communications systems, aircraft modernization,training and government services. The company is a leading merchantsupplier of a broad array of high technology products, includingguidance and navigation, sensors, scanners, fuzes, data links,propulsion systems, simulators, avionics, electro optics, satellitecommunications, electrical power equipment, encryption, signalintelligence, antennas and microwave components. L-3 also supports avariety of Homeland Security initiatives with products and services.Its customers include the Department of Defense, Department ofHomeland Security, selected U.S. Government intelligence agencies andaerospace prime contractors.
To learn more about L-3 Communications, please visit the company'sweb site at www.L-3com.com.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATIONREFORM ACT OF 1995
Except for historical information contained herein, the mattersset forth in this news release are forward-looking statements.Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer toevents or conditions or that include words such as "expects,""anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similarexpressions are forward-looking statements. The forward-lookingstatements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertaintiesthat could cause actual results to differ materially from any suchstatement, including the risks and uncertainties discussed in thecompany's Safe Harbor Compliance Statement for Forward-lookingStatements included in the company's recent filings, including Forms10-K and 10-Q, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Theforward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and thecompany undertakes no obligation to update these forward-lookingstatements.
