The US Department of Defence has cleared the possible sale of a Northrop Grumman missile defence system to Qatar, which will potentially be installed on a pair of Boeing BBJ 747-8Iss.
The value of the deal is $86 million, according to a Defense Security Cooperation Agency statement.
The package covers two Northrop Grumman AN/AAQ-24(V)N Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) systems, which includes 12 turret assemblies (six installed, six spares), 23 missile warning sensors (10 installed, 13 spares), and various other systems, support, and services.
LAIRCM detects incoming infrared homing missiles and uses an intense laser to dazzle their seekers, throwing them off course.
Cirium’s Fleets Analyzer indicates that there are three BBJ 747-8Is on the Qatari registry bearing MSNs 37075 (A7-ABJ), 37501 (A7-HHF), and 37544 (A7-HHE).
The operator of 37075 is Qatari Executive, while the operator of 37501 and 37544 is the Qatari Amiri flight. Aircraft 37501 is listed as being in storage.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
