KVH Industries Inc. has received a $7.1 million order from a major defense contractor for its DSP-3100 fiber optic gyroscopes. The unnamed contractor will employ the devices in remote weapons stations, which allow gunners to operate the weapon from inside their vehicles -- taking them out of turret positions where they are exposed to hostile fire. KVH's gyroscopes provide precise optical stabilization and weapon recoil control for the remote weapon station units while ensuring that the weapon stays on target whether the vehicle is moving or stationary. "KVH's fiber optic gyroscopes are ideally suited for remote weapon station applications," explained Jay Napoli, the company’s vice president of fiber optic gyroscopes and OEM sales. "They have very wide bandwidth, and are extremely accurate and durable thanks to their all-fiber, ruggedized design. The result is a precision sensor capable of providing the hundreds of measurements per second to track and respond to the movements caused by the vehicle and the shock of the weapon firing." The US Army is the world's largest customer for remote weapons stations. It has ordered more than 10,000 systems for use on many of its combat vehicles in its Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (Crows) program. The Crows is a three-axis stabilized mount equipped with a sensor suite and fire control software, allowing on-the-move target acquisition and first-burst target engagement. Capable of target engagement under day and night conditions, the Crows sensor suite includes a daytime video camera, thermal camera, and laser rangefinder, all of which are stabilized by KVH’s fiber optic gyroscopes. A number of foreign militaries have also adopted similar weapon stations for their tactical vehicles. KVH supplied the fiber optic gyroscopes to Recon Optical for the US Army's original CROWS program in 2005, and later won a contract with Kongsberg for the CROWS II program. The US Army has announced a planned CROWS III program that may add an additional 19,000 remote weapons stations systems to its inventory. KVH is currently working on the development of new, smaller, lower cost designs that it believes will be particularly well suited for the CROWS III program. The company said it plans to complete the order by the end of 2010. For more information, visit: www.kvh.com