Northrop Grumman to upgrade Navy AN/AAQ-24(V) LAIRCM missile warning system with advanced threat capability

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 27 Feb. 2011. Engineers from the Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Systems segment in Rolling Meadows, Ill., will upgrade the U.S. Navy AN/AAQ-24(V) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) missile warning sensor by adding advanced threat warning capability under terms of a $34.9 million contract announced Friday.The AN/AAQ-24(V) LAIRCM is designed to provide missile-warning capability to protect large aircraft from infrared-guided, heat-seeking missiles -- particularly those from shoulder-fired launchers like the U.S.-made Stinger Block 2 and Russian-made SA-14 missiles.The LAIRCM is a derivative of the AN/AAQ-24 Nemesis Directional IR CounterMeasure (DIRCM) system. It jams the incoming missile's seeker with a IR laser energy beam, and operates autonomously without intervention from the aircraft crew.

Northrop Grumman will do work on the current contract in Rolling Meadows, Ill.; Goleta, Calif.; Owego, N.Y.; Middleton, Wis.; Tulsa, Okla.; Saxonburg, Pa.; Kirkland Wash.; and other U.S. locations, and should be finished by February 2013. Awarding the contract are officials of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.