ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill.,
Aug. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Common Infrared
Countermeasures (CIRCM) system recently completed another round of
U.S. Army testing by demonstrating its capabilities on a UH-60M
Black Hawk helicopter.
The flight test was conducted at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, by the Redstone Test
Center. The Northrop Grumman CIRCM system was subjected to rigorous
conditions over a six-week period, after which the company said it
successfully completed the entire government-designed test plan.
The system demonstrated its effectiveness under intense aircraft
environments that included turns, banks, gunfire, flares, clutter,
multiple shots, rotor blades and engine exhaust. It also
demonstrated its performance capabilities against captive missile
seekers.
"With each opportunity to prove its effectiveness, our CIRCM
system has performed well," said Jeffrey Q.
Palombo, vice president and general manager, Northrop
Grumman, Land and Self Protection Systems Division. "This flight
test performance correlated extremely well with the results of our
lab testing demonstration to show the maturity of our algorithms
and software, which is something that many new programs can
struggle with. Drawing upon more than 1 million hours of
laser-based directional infrared countermeasure system operation in
theatre, plus 1,000 hours of instrumented CIRCM tests, allowed us
to successfully handle the complex scenarios encountered during the
flight testing phase of this program."
The Northrop Grumman CIRCM system is a lightweight and highly
reliable laser-based countermeasure system. Using an open
architecture approach, it is designed to integrate and operate with
legacy and emerging missile warning systems for rotary wing,
tilt-rotor and small fixed-wing aircraft across the military
services. Northrop Grumman is developing its solution with partners
SELEX ES and Daylight Solutions. Northrop Grumman's infrared
countermeasures systems have been installed on more than 850
aircraft representing 55 different aircraft types, including large
and small fixed-wing, rotary-wing and tilt-wing platforms.
"With a rich legacy of producing reliable infrared
countermeasures systems, Northrop Grumman has proven it can take
systems like this through Milestone C and into full-rate
production," Palombo said. "Our open architecture CIRCM system
brings best-of-breed technology to the warfighter to handle current
and future threats."
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems,
cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and
commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation