The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $334 million, firm-fixed-price contract to provide the service with Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) systems and support, according to a company statement.
Under the terms of the contract, the company will deliver LAIRCM hardware and provide associate support to the Air Force beginning immediately and continuing through April 2014, according to a statement.
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, according to a company statement. The LAIRCM program is a solution to the problem of protecting Air Force transport aircraft from missiles, whether they be air-to-air missiles, surface-to-air missiles or shoulder-fired, infrared, man-portable air defense missiles (MANPADS), according to Air Force statements.
Initially, the Defense Department focused on acquiring infrared (IR) countermeasure systems to protect large aircraft, such as the C-130 and the C-17, according to a statement. These kinds of large planes have traditionally defended themselves from heat-seeking missiles by dropping flares, but as IR missiles became more advanced, they also became more resistant to this kind of countermeasure, according to an Air Force statement.