War and the threat of terrorism can be a boon for defense contractors such as ITT Corp.

The global company announced Wednesday that its ITT Night Vision business in Roanoke County has been awarded a $174.7 million order for night vision monoculars and related gear.

The latest order, from a U.S. Army acquisition center, represents part of a previously announced Omnibus VII contract awarded in September 2005 by the Army -- a contract with a total potential value of nearly $1.4 billion.

Mike Hayman, president and general manager of ITT Night Vision, said in a news release that the company is "proud to support our warfighters."

The AN/PVS-14 night vision monocular provides soldiers and security forces enhanced vision in low-light conditions.

The order's companion requisition for spare image intensifying tubes is intended to help the Army refurbish battle-worn goggles. The tube processes either visible or infrared light collected by a lens.

Deliveries for both the monoculars and spare image intensifying tubes are set to begin in September 2009.

ITT Night Vision describes its AN/PVS-14 monocular as its most versatile night vision unit. It can be hand-held, fitted to a camera or mounted on a weapon or helmet.

In addition to providing night vision devices to U.S. and allied military forces, ITT Night Vision also supplies the homeland security market.

ITT Night Vision has about 1,400 employees in Roanoke County. That's up nearly 40 percent since December 2004.

Most of the business' manufacturing jobs are union positions that pay a comparatively high wage for the region.

Allison Moore, a spokeswoman for ITT Night Vision, said the company does not anticipate a significant jump in employment related to this latest order.

In an e-mail Wednesday, she wrote that "the human resources needs were, for the most part, addressed at the time of the initial Omnibus VII contract award in September 2005."

Last year, the federal government came down hard on ITT for illegally sending classified information to companies in China, Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom in a quest to find cheaper suppliers.

ITT agreed to plead guilty to two felonies and to pay $100 million in fines, forfeitures and investment in new technology it will have to share with competitors.

At the time, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said that "the criminal actions of this corporation have threatened to turn on the lights on the modern battlefield for our enemies and expose American soldiers to great harm."

ITT said it would overhaul a variety of export practices and take other measures to ensure that similar violations do not occur.