Northrop Grumman to provide LAIRCM Missile Defense Systems to U.S. Air Force

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., 20 March 2012. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been awarded a $334 million firm-fixed-price contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) systems and support.

The LAIRCM system functions by automatically detecting a missile launch, determining if it is a threat and activating a high-intensity laser-based countermeasure system to track and defeat the missile.

Under the terms of the contract Northrop Grumman will deliver LAIRCM hardware and provide associated support to the Air Force beginning immediately and continuing through April 2014.

Northrop Grumman's various infrared countermeasure systems are now installed or scheduled for installation on several hundred military aircraft across the U.S. Department of Defense to protect approximately 50 different types of large fixed-wing transports and rotary-wing platforms from infrared missile attacks.