BAE SYSTEMS Provides Countermeasures for U.S. Army Aviation.

NASHUA, N.H. -- The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a five-year contract for up to 484 Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures / Common Missile Warning Systems (ATIRCM/CMWS). The award consists of low-rate initial production, associated spares, test equipment, and various technical support.

Ray Pietruszka, Army product manager for Infrared Countermeasures, said, "The Army is moving out to provide aircrews the best possible protection against IR missile threats. This system will get the job done."

The ceiling value of the Indefinite Delivery /Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract issued Sept. 10 through 2009 is $484 million, said Dr. Conrad Struckman, program manager for BAE Systems' Information & Electronic Warfare Systems in Nashua, N.H. An ID/IQ affords the Army the flexibility to order at various times any number of systems up to the maximum quantity specified in the contract. The first Delivery Order was also awarded Sept. 10 for 50 CMWS systems for use in protecting Army aircraft against guided missiles and is valued at $27.8 million dollars.

Struckman, added, "The ATIRCM/CMWS program is another example of U.S. industry and the Army working together to protect our soldiers. These systems take advantage of recent technology advances to provide a superior missile warning and directable jamming system to defend Army aircraft against hostile missiles."

The system has a modular design. That feature allows the Army to field the CMWS first, and add the ATIRCM portion later. The AAR-57 (CMWS) also works with advanced flare dispensers, automatically detecting incoming missiles and employing countermeasures to confuse enemy missiles.

The ATIRCM/CMWS system -- the AN/ALQ-212 -- adds a directable, jamming subsystem for advanced protection of aircraft in addition to the flares.

The ATIRCM tracks an incoming missile, steering a beam of modulated jamming energy onto the missile seeker. Together ATIRCM/CMWS evaluates the entire threat missile environment and selects the appropriate aircraft response to counter a missile - using an array of countermeasures.

ATIRCM/CMWS or CMWS alone is planned for use aboard fixed wing and rotor-wing aircraft.

BAE Systems is an international company engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defense and aerospace systems in the air, on land, at sea, and in space. BAE Systems' Information & Electronic Systems Integration Sector (IESI) is a leader in situational awareness, electronic attack and defensive systems solutions for the U.S. battle space market.

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