On Wednesday, April 10th, 2024, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) announced the award of a contract to Teledyne FLIR Defense (a part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated), AeroVironment, and Anduril Industries in a tender for the delivery of loitering ammunition in the OPF-L (Organic Precision Fires-Light) program. The procurement process was initiated in September 2023.
Photo: Teledyne FLIR Defense
The United States Marine Corps Systems Command (US MCSC) at Quantico in Virginia has signed a blanket purchase agreement with the three companies for a maximum value of $249 million under the IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) framework, which provides for an unspecified number of deliveries under unspecified conditions.
At the same time, the first executive contracts worth $12 million were signed. Under this agreement, Teledyne FLIR Defense will deliver 127 units of loitering munitions for testing and evaluation later this summer. The contract covers a five-year implementation period with a three-year option. There is no information available regarding how many units will be delivered by the competitors.
As described in the Marine Corps documentation for the tender, Organic Precision Fires-Light is intended to be a new system designed to provide USMC units and platoons with a recoverable and reusable platform/ammunition with precise Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) attack capabilities against the enemy.
The tender also specified the need for the delivery of ground control stations, batteries, personnel training simulators, support equipment, as well as training services and testing support, system engineering work, and logistic support.
As we know from the press release, Teledyne FLIR Defense will design a small Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) loitering munition system, whose concept proved to be very effective in tests against both moving and stationary armored targets, vehicles, and enemy forces. The ability to reuse the new system will relieve Marine soldiers while increasing their firepower.
The flexibility, adaptability and breadth of our proposed OPF-L platform will boost small unit lethality across the large target set Marines must confront in today’s battlespace, Teledyne FLIR Defense Executive Vice President Dr. JihFen Lei stated. We look forward to delivering on this highly advanced technology and working closely with the Marine Corps to augment its force projection – and protection – capabilities.