PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – Aircraft missile-defense experts at Northrop Grumman Corp. will provide electronic parts necessary to build a laser defense system to protect large military aircraft from infrared heat-seeking missiles.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., have announced a $115.5 million order to the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems segment in Rolling Meadows, Ill., to procure the necessary weapon replaceable assemblies, systems engineering technical support, analysis, and studies to integrate the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system onto aircraft for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and the government of Australia.
LAIRCM 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, Northrop Grumman officials say.
The system is for large aircraft like the U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol jet and the Marine Corps CH-53 Super Stallion large helicopter. LAIRCM also can go aboard the U.S. Air Force C-5, C-17, C-37, and C-40 cargo and utility jets; C-130H and MC-130W four-engine utility turboprop aircraft, the CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft, and the KC-46 aerial refueling jet.
The order asks Northrop Grumman to provide 228 advanced threat warning sensors; 79 control indicator unit replaceable; 25 2103 signal processors; 54 infrared missile warning sensors; 101 Guardian laser transmitter assemblies; seven multi-role electro-optical end-to-end test sets; 83 shipping containers; 60 high capacity cards; nine large aircraft system processor replacement smart connector assemblies; and 282 personal computer memory card international association cards for the Navy.
The order also asks the company to provide 65 advanced threat warning sensors; three control indicator unit replaceable units; six Guardian laser transmitter assemblies; 12 high capacity cards; and six large aircraft system processor replacement smart connector assemblies for the Air Force; two Guardian laser transmitter assemblies; 12 infrared missile warning sensors; two shipping containers; and two large aircraft system processor replacement smart connector assemblies for the government of Australia.
LAIRCM focuses its high-intensity laser energy at the infrared seeker head of incoming missiles to blind the missile and force it off its target. The system is designed to protect large aircraft from shoulder-fired, vehicle-launched, and other infrared-guided missiles when the planes are operating close to the ground, such as during takeoffs, landings, and low-level operations like aerial refueling.
Initial LAIRCM systems equipped C-17 and C-130 aircraft as a stop-gap measure, using an ultraviolet sensor, a countermeasure processor, and a small laser turret assembly.
Later-model LAIRCM systems use a smaller laser turret, and operate in the infrared region. Compared to first-phase LAIRCM systems, the newer models provide better resolution, better performance in optical clutter, and increased range of detection.
In the future military leaders are trying to develop aircraft-protection infrared countermeasures able to detect and classify incoming missiles, then emit a custom jamming energy to defeat them.
On this order Northrop Grumman will do the work in Rolling Meadows, Ill.; Goleta, Calif.; Longmont, Colo.; Columbia, Md.; and other locations, and should be finished by June 2023.For more information contact Northrop Grumman Mission Systems online at www.northropgrumman.com, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.
