Mil Tech — Check-6 System to Protect Armor
Sep 01 2009
The six o’clock position — directly to one’s rear — is the most difficult to watch and protect. So, in an effort to cover the “six,” the U.S. Army has begun outfitting M1 Abrams tanks and Stryker wheeled APCs with the Check-6 Infrared Rearview System made by BAE Systems. Check-6 allows a tank or APC crew to see behind the vehicle without leaving its confines.
The Check-6 system, developed through BAE’s work with thermal weapon sights, is essentially an infrared camera that fits into the lower section of a tail light housing. The camera installs without having to be welded or drilled and provides a field upgrade capability for existing and new vehicles.
The system provides day, night, and all-weather visibility.
“We found a space in the tail light and put a camera in there,” says Karen Spiller, BAE’s manager of media relations. “It’s pretty simple, but it’s a unique solution and something that the troops need.”
Spiller, who notes BAE is producing the units at its Austin, Texas, facility on a $45 million contract from General Dynamics, says BAE began delivering Check-6 systems in April. The company expects to deliver more than 12,000 of the units in the next decade. The system can be installed on 300,000 current and planned Army vehicles, she adds.
“Without the Check-6 system, the driver and crew of the vehicle cannot see what’s behind them without leaving the protective cover of their vehicle,” Spiller says. “Check-6 is basically a low cost solution that gives the vehicle’s crew a much-needed rearward situational awareness while reducing their exposure to deadly threats. Reliable visibility also increases vehicle safety and can save lives.”
Spiller notes that BAE has delivered 100 systems to Iraq and the response from troops has been positive.
“The soldiers love it,” she says. “It’s been credited with saving the lives of a U.S. Army colonel and a general in Iraq.”
BAE Systems also is seeking to develop Check-6 applicability to other types of vehicles.
About the author: Alan M. Petrillo is a Tucson, Ariz., freelance writer who works in a wide variety of fields, writing for national and regional magazines and newspapers. He’s also the author of the historical mystery, Full Moon.
