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US Army Buys $97Mln Worth of Weapon Sights

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Army soldiers will be able to aim a weapon with a thermal sight while simultaneously seeing the target through helmet mounted goggles with equipment ordered in a $97 million deal that was announced in a press release on Wednesday by defense contractor BAE Systems.
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"The innovative RTA [Rapid Target Acquisition] solution uses a wireless connection to transmit the weapon sight’s aim point and surrounding imagery directly into the soldier’s goggle," the release stated. "This enables soldiers to quickly locate and engage targets from any carry position, without needing to shoulder the weapon."

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The $97 million deal is part of a previously announced contract for an Army upgrade of night vision systems, the release explained.

The system not only enables a soldier to quickly engage targets from any carry position without needing to shoulder the weapon, it also allows soldiers to fire weapons while maintaining full cover for increased survivability, according to the release.

US congressional leaders agreed a $1.3-trilion spending bill on Wednesday for the remainder of this fiscal year with a biggest increase in defense funding in 15 years.

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