Leahy Secures New Periscope Contract
For Brattleboro’s Kollmorgen Facility

(BRATTLEBORO, Vt.)  Tuesday, March 21 -- The Navy will procure a next-generation periscope system for some of its submarines from Kollmorgen Inc. of Brattleboro, under a forthcoming contract that Sen. Patrick Leahy announced Tuesday during a visit to the firm’s facility here. 

Leahy secured $2.8 million in additional funding for development of a standby state-of-the-art, electronic mast, during the Senate’s consideration of the Fiscal Year 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill last year.  Leahy is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and its Defense Subcommittee, which handles the Senate’s work in writing the annual Defense Department budget bills.

The Navy has installed the Kollmorgen-manufactured photonic mast on its four SSGN submarines, which are capable of inserting elite Special Forces teams into hostile environments.  The masts have highly advanced scopes and sensors, including a powerful night-vision system.  The extra funding will allow Kollmorgan to begin production of a spare mast this year, which will give the Navy the ability to quickly deal with malfunctions and to boost the readiness of the fleet.

Kollmorgen Inc. is based in Northhampton, Mass., and maintains a sizable 40-person production facility in Brattleboro.  Kollmorgen installed the first-ever periscope on a U.S. Navy submarine in 1916, and it remains the only manufacturer of U.S. Navy periscopes and electronic masts.

“This is a company and a workforce the Navy can count on,” said Leahy.  “The Navy has continuously turned to the men and women of Kollmorgen for its periscope needs because of their precision, their efficiency and their dependability.  Advanced technologies like these night vision systems make our defense forces effective and help keep our sailors safe.  The people of Kollmorgen are helping the Navy stay ahead of the curve.”

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