Northrop Grumman CIRCM completes Preliminary Design Review

Northrop Grumman’s Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) has completed Preliminary Design Review (PDR), marking the end of the company's technology demonstration programme. 

Northrop Grumman is developing the system as a potential solution to enhance the defence of military aircraft against man-portable air defence systems and other heat-seeking munitions.

Northrop Grumman completed the PDR on schedule based on requirements established at contract award. According to the company, the PDR confirmed that the CIRCM surpassed the programme’s weight and electrical power requirements.

Jeff Palombo, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division, said: ‘What we presented during the review was exactly what we promised in our proposal to the army 26 months ago: detailed performance data from mature CIRCM systems demonstrating a system that protects aircrews at an affordable cost.

‘Our PDR date was established 14 months ago, and with close collaboration with the army, we executed on time with anticipated results. With our CIRCM system testing moving out smartly, we are well prepared to support our army customer with compliant engineering and manufacturing development hardware and rapid production capability.’

CIRCM is a lightweight, low-cost, highly reliable, laser-based countermeasure system designed to work with 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. The company was awarded a technology development contract to develop the system in 2012. It completed acceptance testing on the first suite of equipment and delivered a complete hardware set in January - two months ahead of schedule.