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2021-06-06

NGC Gets U.S. Army, Navy Contracts to Tackle Threats

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC), has won two separate contracts from the U.S. Army and Navy to tackle different incoming threats.

The U.S. Army recently awarded NGC a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract valued at US$959.1 million for full-rate production of the Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) system.

The award follows the U.S. Army’s approval for the Northrop Grumman CIRCM system to enter full-rate production based on design maturity and demonstrated production capability.

Strength of CIRCM

CIRCM is a lightweight system that uses laser energy to defend aircraft against infrared (IR) threats. Its modular, open systems architecture allows it to be integrated with systems and sensors to address current and emerging threats.

The system protects against shoulder-fired and vehicle-launched anti-aircraft missiles that home in on the heat signature of an aircraft. Its ability to track and swiftly defeat infrared-guided threats has been validated over thousands of hours of rigorous testing in laboratory, flight, and live-fire test environments.

Designed specifically to protect rotary wing and medium fixed wing aircraft from IR missiles, CIRCM solution is built on open architecture to work with existing hardware, simplify upgrades, and keep lifecycle costs low.

CIRCM uses a compact pointer/tracker, a lightweight COTS processor and advanced Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) technology for greater reliability and scalability.

Bob Gough, vice president, navigation, targeting and survivability, Northrop Grumman, explains: “CIRCM’s cutting-edge capability has been proven against the most advanced threats and the modular open systems approach brings flexibility for the future. Northrop Grumman and our partners have proven the mature production capacity to deliver and support the U.S. Army’s mission with this life-saving technology today and for years to come.”

With a foundation of Lean-Agile software development, the system is built on an open architecture that works with existing hardware, simplifies upgrades, and keeps lifecycle costs low. CIRCM also meets demanding size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements, to offer industry leading capability for a variety of SWaP restrictive platforms for the U.S. and its allies.

The company’s infrared countermeasure systems have been installed on more than 1,500 aircraft, representing more than 80 different aircraft types, including large and small fixed-wing, rotary wing and tilt-rotor platforms.

Sea-Skimming Target Vehicles

Separately, the NGC has been awarded a production contract option for 18 additional GQM-163A Coyote supersonic sea-skimming target vehicles by the U.S. Navy.

This award represents the first of three options that can be exercised against the full-rate production contract awarded last year. The US$55.4 million award brings the GQM-163A targets ordered to date to 218.

Rich Straka, vice president, launch vehicles, Northrop Grumman, elaborated: “We are committed to supporting U.S. Navy fleet readiness with our high performance, supersonic Coyote target vehicles. Our design integrates a solid-fuel, air-breathing ducted rocket propulsion system with high performance avionics capable of emulating multiple scenarios to prepare and protect our warfighters against evolving threats.”

Northrop Grumman designed and developed the Coyote starting in the early 2000s, with the first flight in 2003. The company has since delivered 124 targets to the U.S. Navy and successfully launched them 81 times. To create efficiencies and save time for the production of this target system, the company uses 3D printing technology to build mockups and tooling, and to prototype design modifications.

The Coyote programme is managed by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. It provides the Navy with a cost-effective target to simulate advanced supersonic anti-ship cruise missile threats. It can be used as a Mach 2.5+ sea skimming target or as a Mach 3.5+ diving target from an altitude of 52,000 feet; the target vehicle is also able to perform high G turns.

The Coyote is designed and built at Northrop Grumman’s launch vehicle production facility in Chandler, Arizona and launches from San Nicholas Island, California; Pacific Missile Range Facility, Hawaii; White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

The NGC solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defence and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of its customers worldwide.

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