Northrop Grumman Wins $66 Million Air Force Contract

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Oct 16 -- Northrop Grumman Corp. said its electronic systems sector has won a US Air Force contract to develop and produce a laser-based infrared countermeasures system to protect military aircraft from heat-seeking missiles. The contract was valued at $66 million and has production options totaling an additional $112 million.

The Air Force plans to install Northrop's Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system on 20 Air Force C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft. The system is a laser-based variation of Northrop Grumman's lamp-based Directional Infrared Countermeasures system, which is in use by militaries in the United States and Britain.