Nonmilitary sales of spy gear loom

A division of New York-based defense contractor L-3 Communications is looking to make its first nonmilitary sales of technology that gives U.S. field commanders a bird's-eye view of the battlefield.

Communications Systems-West is pitching the $50,000 Rover III Manpack for mountain rescues, law enforcement and U.S. border patrols, said Susan Opp, vice president of strategic development.

The Rover, a high-speed wireless data transmission system that can fit in a suitcase, works off aircraft-mounted cameras, projecting detailed images to a rugged laptop on the ground. It also can work with infrared cameras, which detect a person's body heat and are often used by aircraft in Utah to find lost hikers and skiers.

Some lost hikers are never found in Utah's rugged mountains, and the Rover could turn the odds in their favor by transmitting images from aircraft to ground, where they could be studied in greater detail, said Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard, who was given a recent demonstration.

The operations of L-3's Salt Lake City division have been kept under wraps for 50 years, since its inception and through several ownership changes.

Now with the push for nonmilitary sales, Communications Systems-West is raising its public profile. It made a recent call on Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., trying to sell the Rover to the Utah Department of Public Safety, which owns several helicopters and small planes.

The company invited the Associated Press for a tour this week and said it was the first time any news organization was allowed to glimpse its operations.

In a shop where about 20 people assemble and test Rover Manpacks, a wall-mounted counter tallied the number of units shipped out — 785 since 2004, many to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The company's biggest customers are the U.S. Air Force and Army, which are expected to buy hundreds more Rovers. The company also is designing a smaller, iPod-size variation.

Another L-3 division makes a Dick Tracy-style watch with a screen that can show moving images from aircraft, satellites or spy drones. The WAVE — for Wrist Attached Video Equipment — is useful for special operations, company officials said.

Communications Systems-West occupies buildings next to Salt Lake's airport, where it ships out enough communications parts and gear to fill a Home Depot catalog. It also retrofits military Humvees with transmitting gear and foldable satellite disks, some carried by trailer.