BAE Wins $52M for Over 200 CMWS Helicopter Protection Systems

UH-60 CMWS in Iraq(click to view full) The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a $52 million contract to provide more than 200 AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS) to protect Army fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft against infrared guided missile threats, under an indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract awarded in September 2004. BAE Systems’ CMWS program director Dr. Conrad Struckman said the Army had asked BAE 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. AN/AAR-57 CMWS(click to view labeled) 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).