BAE Wins $1.4B Order for Aircraft IR-Defense Systems
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On April 17, DID noted a $52 million contract to BAE for AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS) to protect Army fixed and rotary-wing aircraft against infrared guided missile threats. BAE Systems’ CMWS program director Dr. Conrad Struckman said the Army had asked BAE Electronic Integrated Systems to field this equipment as quickly as possible. In response, BAE accelerated CMWS deliveries to 40 systems a month and climbing, and sent employees to support the equipment in theater.
The U.S. Army appears to have appreciated that response…
It has awarded BAE Systems a sole-source contract for its CMWS, handing its Nashua, NH group a 5-year indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) award with a maximum ceiling of $1.4 billion on May 19, 2006 and ordering 80 CMWS systems for $23.2 million under the IDIQ. An IDIQ affords the Army the flexibility to order any number of systems at various times, up to the maximum number specified in the contract.
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ATIRCM/CMWS is the US military’s next-generation directable, multi-band laser-based countermeasures system, designed to protect helicopters and attack aircraft against widely deployed heat-seeking missile threats. Together, the AN/AAR-57 CMWS, BAE Systems’ AN/ALQ-212 Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (ATIRCM) system, and advanced IR countermeasures munitions flares comprise the primary components of the Army’s suite of integrated infrared countermeasures (SIIRCM).
Additional Readings
- BAE Systems North America – BAE SYSTEMS Missile Warning System Performs Successfully on Tactical Aircraft. From March 11-13, 2002, a QF-4 drone had 8 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles launched at it while equipped with CMWS. The system worked. On March 29, the Army awarded BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) a $12.7 million contract for production of 26 CMWS sets. Work was performed in Nashua, NH, and completed by Sept. 30, 2003.
