DESCRIPTION
The Family of Weapon Sights — Individual (FWS-I) mounts to the M4 Carbine and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and provides the Soldier with infrared (thermal) imagery in all weather conditions, under all lighting conditions and through obscurants.
BENEFIT TO THE SOLDIER
FWS-I’s thermal sensor gives Soldiers the ability to see through fog, dust and smoke, giving an advantage both day and night. Additionally, FWS-I wirelessly transmits the weapon sight crosshair and thermal imagery to the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle (ENVG) III and ENVG-Binocular, providing a Rapid Target Acquisition (RTA) capability. RTA enables Soldiers to detect, recognize and engage targets accurately from any carry position and with significantly reduced exposure to enemy fire.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Man-sized target recognition at night: 70 percent probability at 960 meters (threshold) and 1,200 meters (objective)
- Man-sized target recognition through smoke or other obscurants: 90 percent probability at 300 meters (threshold) and 480 meters (objective)
- Total system weight: Less than or equal to 2 pounds (threshold) and 1.5 pounds (objective)
- Field-of-view: Greater than or equal to 18 degrees
PROGRAM STATUS
4QFY17:
- Low Rate Initial Production Delivery Order 2
- Justification and Approval approved
3QFY18:
- Completed Initial Operational Test and Evaluation
- Airborne Limited User Test
PROJECTED ACTIVITIES
2QFY19:
- Full Materiel Release
- Full Rate Production
3QFY19: First Unit Equipped
