iRobot has received two delivery orders totaling $17.5 million for iRobot) PackBot) robots for the U.S. military. The Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), formerly NAVAIR, on behalf of the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., and the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) both placed orders for iRobot's combat-proven military robots. iRobot expects to complete delivery by the end of January 2008.
PEO STRI placed an order valued at more than $8.6 million for 14 iRobot PackBot robots with ICx Fido Kit and five iRobot PackBot EOD robots, plus spare parts. The PackBot robots will ship with iRobot's new game-style hand controllers for faster training and easier operation in the field.
This order brings the total PEO STRI (formerly NAVAIR) orders to date to approximately $36 million. Under the terms of the existing Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract, PEO STRI could order up to the full $64.3 million value in robots, spare parts, training and repair services.
In addition, NAVSEA ordered 60 iRobot PackBot MTRS robots and spare parts valued at $8.9 million for Joint Service Explosive Ordnance Disposal use, bringing NAVSEA's total orders to date to more than $74 million. Under the terms of NAVSEA's previously existing IDIQ contract, the military could order up to the full $264 million value in robots, spare parts, training and repair services.
"We see growing enthusiasm from our military customers for our reliable, life-saving PackBot robots," said Vice Admiral Joe Dyer (U.S. Navy, Ret.), president of iRobot Government and Industrial Robots. "We will continue our efforts to improve our battle-proven technologies with innovations like PackBot's new game-style hand controller, which takes advantage of hours of training our young men and women have logged with computer games, making them pre-trained PackBot operators."
