ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., July 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy selected Northrop Grumman to supply infrared missile warning systems for fleet of heavy lift helicopters.
The contact is worth $80 million, the company said Thursday.
Under terms of the agreement Northrop Grumman more than 450 IRMWS and 90 processors to Naval Air Systems Command beginning in May 2011 and concluding in the second quarter of 2013.
The hardware, in conjunction with Northrop Grumman's Guardian laser transmitter assemblies and control indicator units delivered under the same U.S. Air Force indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, will complete the initial Department of Navy Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures installation requirements on 156 aircraft to provide protection for U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E, CH-46E and CH-53D platforms.
"Protecting vulnerable, rotor-wing aircraft during this era of irregular warfare is paramount," Carl Smith, vice president of infrared countermeasures for Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division, said. "Our system allows more versatility on the battlefield while helping to protect our men and women in uniform."
The LAIRCM system, now installed or scheduled for installation in more than 500 military aircraft, automatically detects a missile launch, determines if it is a threat, and if so activates a high-intensity, laser-based countermeasure system to track and defeat the missile.
