Leonardo DRS wins $63M U.S. Army thermal sight order

Leonardo DRS has won a $63 million U.S. Army production order for its Family of Weapon Sights–Individual, a clip-on thermal sight that sends its image wirelessly to a soldier’s night vision goggles so a target can be found and aimed at without raising the rifle to the eye.

DRS announced the order on Oct. 13, saying the U.S. Army placed it under an existing indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for thermal weapon sights used by dismounted troops. How many sights the order covers and when they will be delivered were not disclosed.

Known as FWS-I, the sight links to the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle–Binocular, or ENVG-B, and to the U.S. Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System headset. Once connected, the heat image from the weapon appears in the helmet display with an aiming point, so a soldier can see where the rifle is pointed while still watching the surrounding area.

“Modernization at the tactical edge depends on giving soldiers the information they need without adding unnecessary complexity,” said John Baylouny, president and CEO of Leonardo DRS.

Because it uses an uncooled thermal detector, FWS-I needs no cryogenic cooling, which keeps it light and quick to switch on. Picking up body heat lets troops spot people and vehicles at night or through smoke when camouflage would otherwise hide them, and its clip-on mount allows the same unit to move between different weapons.

“FWS-I combines advanced uncooled thermal imaging with soldier-worn display integration to help improve target acquisition and situational awareness for dismounted soldiers,” said Jerry Hathaway, senior vice president and general manager of Leonardo DRS Electro-Optical Infrared Systems.

For several years the U.S. Army has fielded FWS-I alongside ENVG-B to close-combat units, and the pairing forms its rapid target acquisition capability, which puts the rifle sight’s picture into the goggle. Management of the IVAS headset, which can also show the sight image, moved to Anduril in 2025 as the U.S. Army reworked that program.

Electro-optical and infrared gear for the U.S. Army is a long-running business for DRS, which also supplies sensors for combat vehicles and aircraft, and the company expects to keep producing FWS-I under the same contract as further orders arrive.