Naval Surface Warfare Center to assist in LAIRCM integration on CH-53D

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division is to assist in the integration design for the installation of the Department of the Navy (DoN) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system on the CH-53D helicopter.

The organisation assisted in the first successful launch of the CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter with the Department of the Navy (DoN) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system on its platform in January 2009.

The advanced laser technology now on board is designed to defeat threatening missile-guidance systems. The active countermeasure automatically directs a high-intensity modulated laser beam into the missile threat and alerts the pilot of its deflection without any action needed from the crew on board.

NSWC Crane's engineering, logistics and field test support provided a significant contribution to this technology currently being utilized in theater.

With more than 500,000 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles available on the worldwide market, infrared guided-missiles have become one of the greatest threats in conflict.

"Anywhere an infrared missile threat exists, these highly effective countermeasures systems come into play," said Ted Smock, division manager for NSWC Crane's Infrared/Radio Frequency (IR/RF) System Technologies division.

The Electronic Warfare/Information Operations (EW/IO) Center supports the Advanced Tactical Aircraft Protection Systems program office in the effort. This office is responsible for the fielding of DoN LAIRCM self-protection systems on Navy aircraft.

NSWC Crane has been supporting the CH-53E DoN LAIRCM project for approximately three years.

NSWC Crane partners with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and NSWC Crane's Special Missions Center on initiatives related to the DoN LAIRCM system, including the integration of the systems onto other Navy platforms. NSWC Crane is also developing solutions to counter next generation advanced threats the warfighter will face in the future.

"We dig deeply into the inner workings of the threat and basically understand what the missile is thinking," Smock said.

NSWC Crane's initiatives on the system stem from its role as the EW Center of Excellence within the Department of Defense (DoD). The command's nationally recognized leadership knowledge of the threat environment provides the expertise needed to successfully complete missions. NSWC Crane's secured engineering and test facilities, modeling/simulation and performance assessment methods, and development and prototyping ability offer a capability in one place that no other DoD organization can provide.

"We've been leveraging technology to save pilot and air crew lives for more than fifty years. We are the Navy's expertise in infrared countermeasure development. Laser-based countermeasures is just another technology applied to the overall mission," Smock said. "Nobody else can provide the whole package."