Marconi Electronic Systems has won a £2 million ($3.2 million) technology demonstrator contract to develop a laser for Northrop Grumman's AAQ-24(V) Nemesis Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM), being fielded by UK forces.
Last month, Marconi delivered a mid-infrared wavelength, single-band, solid-state laser to the UK Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), which has been working with the company on the technology for several years.
Flight trials will be flown later this year, using a DERA-operated Westland Sea King helicopter. At the end of the trials, the UK will decide whether to fit Nemesis with a laser.
Northrop Grumman and Marconi are supplying Nemesis for 14 helicopter and large fixed-wing types operated by UK forces. British Aerospace Systems and Equipment and Rockwell are also team members.
The Ministry of Defence will not name aircraft, apart from the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules and the Sea King, but its is known that the Boeing Chinook, British Aerospace 125 and BAe 146s used for VIP and Royal flights will have the system.
The turret-mounted DIRCM has the capacity to accept a laser as an additional method for defeating infrared-guided missiles. The baseline unit relies on a flashing high irradiance arc-lamp to blind approaching missiles.
A DIRCM-equipped helicopter has been awarded its military aircraft release (MAR) and fielded. An MAR for a fixed-wing type was due by the end of May, while another two are close to completion.
Fitting a laser to Nemesis makes it possible to develop a system compatible with fast jets. The two current turrets produce too much drag for fast-jet applications.
DIRCM relies on data from an missile warning system to steer the turret towards threats. Having acquired the approaching threat, it jams the missile until it runs out of energy and falls away.
Source: Flight International
