Missile warning systems from Northrop Grumman to equip Marine Corps medium- and heavy-lift helicopters
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., 11 July 2010. U.S. Marine Corps officials needed infrared missile warning systems to protect their fleets of medium- and heavy-lift of helicopters from heat-seeking missiles -- particularly from shoulder-fired ground-to-air missiles. They found their solution from the Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Systems sector in Rolling Meadows, Ill.
Officials of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are awarding an $80 million contract to provide infrared missile warning systems (IRMWS) and processors for 156 Navy and Marine Corps CH-53D, CH-53E, and CH-46E helicopters. This hardware will work together with Northrop Grumman's Guardian laser transmitters and control indicators in the Navy's Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasureslaser missile defense systems for Navy and Marine Corps helicopters.
Northrop Grumman's LAIRCM system, installed or scheduled for installation on more than 500 military aircraft, automatically detects a missile launch, determines if it is a threat, and activates a high-intensity laser-based countermeasure system to track and defeat the missile. These missile-warning systems will enable these helicopters to fly in and out of areas previously denied to them where threats from infrared-guided missiles were considered too severe, Northrop Grumman officials say.
Northrop Grumman will deliver more than 450 infrared missile warning systems and 90 processors to the Navy. "Protecting vulnerable, rotor-wing aircraft during this era of irregular warfare is paramount," says Carl Smith, vice president of infrared countermeasures for Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division.
For more information contact Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems online at www.es.northropgrumman.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
