FLIR Systems [FLIR] has received more than $70 million in new orders to deliver nearly 600 additional Centaur unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) to the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, the company announced Monday.
Orders for the Centaur medium-sized ground robots were placed under the Army’s multi-year Man Transportable Robotic System (MTRS) Increment II contract vehicle, which has now had its ceiling value raised from $158 million to $190 million.
Deliveries under the latest round of orders for Centaur robots, which are used to assist Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams, will begin in the third quarter of this year, according to FLIR.
“The strong demand for this multi-purpose robot shows how well unmanned technology can support EOD teams across our military, enabling them to do their job more safely and effectively,” Tom Frost, vice president for FLIR’s unmanned and integrated solutions business, said in a statement. “Given the platform’s versatility and commonality across U.S. defense forces, we see a future where our close allies can leverage this same technology to enable combined operations”
FLIR noted it has now received orders totaling more than $170 million for over 1,300 Centaurs since receiving the MTRS Inc. II contract in 2017.
The Centaur system weighs around 160-pounds and is integrated with an advanced electro-optical/infrared camera suite and a manipulator arm capable of reaching six feet, with the ability to climb stairs, according to FLIR.
FLIR announced last week it received a new $15.4 million order to deliver additional Black Hornet 3 palm-sized unmanned aerial vehicles to the Army for the Soldier Borne Sensor small unit-level surveillance and reconnaissance effort, bringing its total to more than $85 million in orders under the program.