Military

BAE Systems Receives U.S. Army Contracts to Prepare Countermeasures System for Test and Evaluation

18 Jun 2007 | Ref. 180/2007

Nashua, New Hampshire, United States. — BAE Systems has received three U.S. Army contracts totalling $27 million to prepare its Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures system for operational test and evaluation in 2009.

ATIRCM, the Army's next-generation directable infrared countermeasures system, is a multi-band, laser-based countermeasures system that protects aircraft against widely deployed heat-seeking missiles.

BAE Systems will enhance system reliability through a series of growth tests, incorporate a multi-band laser (MBL) upgrade to replace the infrared jam laser and flashlamp subsystem, and update software with improved built-in test and mission capability. The MBL has an infrared countermeasures capability that provides laser jamming in all three key threat bands. That capability makes it more reliable and effective than the combined flashlamp infrared jam laser on the current ATIRCM system.

BAE Systems will next conduct a series of flight tests to verify the performance of ATIRCM and the company’s Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) in advance of Army test and evaluation. CMWS is a sensor for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft that provides rapid and effective warning of hostile surface-to-air threats.

“We will conduct extensive ATIRCM system testing — both in the lab and in the air — over the next two years to incorporate the MBL and ensure successful Army operational test and evaluation,” said John Nyilis, BAE Systems’ ATIRCM program director in Nashua, New Hampshire.

The combined ATIRCM/CMWS suite evaluates the entire threat environment and selects the appropriate response to counter specific missile threats using an array of countermeasures.

About BAE Systems:
BAE Systems is a global defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With 88,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems' sales exceeded £13.7 billion pounds sterling (US25.4 billion dollars) in 2006.

For more information, please contact:

John Neilson, BAE Systems
Tel: + 44 (0) 1252 384795 Mob: + 44 (0)7802 337704
john.neilson@baesystems.com

Susan Lenover, BAE Systems
Tel: +1 703-907-8259 Mobile: +1 703-850-1621
susan.lenover@baesystems.com