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BAE SYSTEMS Tactical IR countermeasure passes major milestone

20 Nov 2001

The U.S. Navy's Tactical Aircraft Directable Infrared Countermeasure System (TADIRCM) has successfully defeated an infrared surface-to-air missile in a live fire test using BAE Systems Agile-EyeTM infrared jam head and laser.

The test, conducted at the U.S. Naval Weapons Range at China Lake, California, on 5th November is the first time that a modern infrared missile launched at a tactical fighter aircraft has been defeated by an on-board laser-based directional infrared countermeasures system.

For the live fire test, the TADIRCM system was installed on a U.S. Navy QF-4 drone which was flying at Mach 0.55 at low altitude when the missile was launched. The missile launch was immediately detected by the two-colour missile warning system using Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) developed algorithms. Missile declaration and laser jamming by the Agile Eye occurred very rapidly, well before the missile became a threat to the drone.

According to Ken Sarkady, the U.S. Navy Execution Manager for TADIRCM, "This test marks the beginning of a new era in fighter aircraft self-protection. Together, the U.S. Navy and BAE Systems have demonstrated we could quickly and accurately point a very narrow laser beam from the QF-4 drone at a small, supersonic, man portable infrared missile and jam the missile - causing a very large miss distance."

In October 2001, the TADIRCM system passed critical captive seeker and static missile tests for the U.S. Navy - including hostile missile detection and jamming of both air-to-air and surface-to-air missile seekers - a prerequisite for the successful live fire test.

TADIRCM, an Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) program managed by Naval Air Systems Command (PMA-272) and the Naval Research Laboratory, consists of an advanced missile warning system and a low profile, laser-based IR countermeasure system. It will protect tactical and other fixed wing aircraft from surface-to-air and air-to air IR guided missiles. The system includes six two-colour IR staring sensors, a signal processor, a modulated IR laser and two compact pointer/trackers. The system detects and tracks incoming missiles, and then decisively jams them with its IR laser and pointer/tracker.