crows timetable, page-2

From the army times on march 20th. States 2 months, so I guess this is around may.

CROWS
CROWS has been a huge hit among combatants. It?s not hard to understand why. It gets operators out of the turret and under the armor, and turns area weapons into precision engagement weapons. Target identification and day/night surveillance capabilities are light years beyond what small-level leaders have had in the past.

And the increased demand for CROWS has led to lot of growth in the program, said Lt. Col. Thomas Ryan, product manager for crew-served weapons. The Army is bumping the ceiling from 11,000 to 18,000 systems. It currently has 7,575 in service.

The contract will allow the Army not only to buy new systems and maintain current ones, but also engineer product improvements, he said.

While the draft request for proposal is not expected for two months, a Feb. 16 recapitalization solicitation said the five-year contract will see production rates up to 300 CROWS monthly, with the ability to surge to 500 for limited durations.

This equates to continued fire superiority, tactical advantage and protection for operators, Ryan said.

Officials also are looking to develop stateside home training programs as the program evolves. Other improvements may include an escalation of force kit, IR pointer and 360-degree situational awareness with the day and night cameras