On target

June 02, 2016

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If you are a soldier on the ground who needs to know the exact location of an enemy target, you could turn to our Target Reconnaissance Infrared Geolocating Rangefinder system. The TRIGR system is a compact, lightweight, mission-critical device that gives you the ability to identify target locations while on foot — even those more than two miles away.

Using infrared, laser-based technology, the system works in daylight or at night, and in obscured-visibility conditions, such as fog or smoke. In a single, handheld package, it allows friendly forces to know the exact location of enemy targets, in order to effectively engage them with minimal collateral damage. The TRIGR system is also rugged and can adapt to a variety of missions.

The system was developed to meet the U.S. Army’s requirements for a handheld, laser-based target locating device. The rangefinder was then selected by the Army under its Laser Target Locator Module (LTLM) program. We were awarded the LTLM contract and began hardware deliveries in 2010. In the ensuing years, our deliveries met all fielding requirements, and more importantly, the warfighters it supported reported successful field performance results.

An important part of the fielding requirements for LTLM was to complete testing at several military locations to ensure the system would be effective in all types of theater environments. The cold-region testing was conducted at Ft. Greely, Alaska, which presented the team with some interesting challenges.

“Being in Alaska in the middle of winter, the weather can be harsh and unpredictable,” said Jason Boucher, customer test equipment systems engineer. “There are only about five hours of sunlight, and we experienced 45 mph winds on some days and 40-degree-below temperatures on other days. But knowing the importance of this product to the soldiers, we managed to collect the data needed to ensure our product was ready for fielding.”

We have provided more than 5,000 TRIGR systems to the Army since 2010. Even after newer solutions are introduced, the TRIGR systems in the field will likely remain in use until 2035 and beyond. While final deliveries of this important equipment recently concluded, the company is now aiming for further success with the system.

“When it was introduced, TRIGR was the first targeting system of its kind to combine the functions of several individual pieces of equipment that soldiers previously had to carry separately into a single, lightweight package,” said Dave Richards, manager of Targeting Programs at BAE Systems. “As advanced as this TRIGR system is, in the last four years, we’ve made tremendous technology advances that position us to continue to develop and manufacture the next-generation targeting solutions and provide unmatched reconnaissance and targeting capabilities to the dismounted warfighter.”

Source : BAE Systems PLC (LSE: BAES.L)