Graham Warwick / Washington DC
Raytheon has proposed its Vigilant Eagle directed-energy airport protection system in response to a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) solicitation for alternatives to aircraft-mounted directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) systems to defend airliners against missile attack.
The DHS invited proposals for mature systems as viable alternatives to the laser-based DIRCMs developed by BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman under the agency’s Counter-Manpads programme and due to be evaluated in revenue service on cargo aircraft beginning later this year. Contracts are to be awarded late this month for demonstrations to be conducted within 12-18 months.
Raytheon has proposed the ground-based Vigilant Eagle, a high-power microwave system that uses electromagnetic energy generated by billboard-sized phased arrays to divert surface-to-air missiles away from aircraft taking off and landing. One system can provide a protective bubble around an airport, the company says.
To put together a demonstration system for the DHS, Raytheon has elected to use the fire distribution centre (FDC) from its in-service Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) as the Vigilant Eagle command and control component. Using information from civilian and military radars and the Vigilant Eagle’s network of infrared missile detection and tracking sensors around the airport, the FDC will be able to identify, discriminate and engage shoulder-fired missiles in an urban environment, Raytheon says.
The DHS has allocated only $7 million to demonstrate alternatives to the aircraft-mounted DIRCM. This is not enough to mount a full-scale airport protection demo, but Raytheon believes it should be enough to show the value of its system. It has proposed demonstrating Vigilant Eagle against real missiles at a military airfield.
Source: Flight International
