Northrop Grumman to Update US Air Force’s Aircraft IR Countermeasure System; Carl Smith Comments

Northrop Grumman has received a $111 million contract modification to deliver additional hardware and support equipment for the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft infrared countermeasure system.

The company will supply transmitters, missile warning sensors, processors, lasers and control interface units to the Air Force and international clients through April 2017, Northrop said Monday.

Carl Smith, vice president of IR countermeasures at Northrop Grumman, said the company works to introduce new technologies under its modular open systems approach in an effort to help “warfighters stay ahead of emerging threats.”

The countermeasure system is designed to detect and track a missile launch for potential threats before it deploys a laser-based countermeasure system.