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On May 15/13, the US DSCA announced a pair of official export requests to provide and install Northrop Grumman’s AN/AAQ-24(V) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM), for use on Oman and Qatar’s royal flight VVIP jets.
LAIRCM is a defensive system that couples detectors to track incoming missiles, with a laser that locks on to the missile’s seeker. A series of timed laser pulses lead the missile harmlessly astray. That won’t stop a radar-guided S-300, but it isn’t designed to. It’s designed as a defense against the shoulder-fired MANPADS air defense missiles that might be used in a sneak attack, like the one that nailed a DHL airliner over Baghdad in 2003. The specific requests include:
Oman
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The Government of Oman’s DSCA request [PDF] involves 2 LAIRCM systems, 11 Small Laser Transmitter Assemblies, 3 System Processors/Repeaters, 14 AN/AAR-54 Missile Warning Sensors, User Data Module Cards and Control Interface Units, Multi-role Electro-Optic End-to-End test set, Card Memory, Smart Cards, and Support Equipment, Consumables, Flight Test/Certification, and a comprehensive suite of training and support.
The systems will be installed on 1 B747-400 and 1 B747-800, at an estimated cost of up to $100 million. The prime contractor will be Northrop Grumman Corporation of Rolling Meadows, IL, and if the sale goes through, implementation will require multiple U.S. Government or contractor personnel in Oman over a period of 10 years.
Oman’s Royal Flight has 6 active jets: 2 smaller Gulfstream-IV business jets, a Boeing 747-430 VIP plane used by Sultan Qaboos himself, a Boeing 747-SP (tail #A4O-SO has a satellite antenna bulge, that once served as the Sultan’s “Oman One”), and VIP configured Airbus A319-133CJ and A320-232 jets. The 747-800I had been in storage, but it seems that a change is in the wind.
Qatar
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The Government of Qatar’s request [PDF] involves 2 LAIRCM systems for B747-800 Aircraft, 11 Small Laser Transmitter Assemblies, 3 System Processors/Repeaters, 14 AN/AAR-54 Missile Warning Sensors, User Data Module Cards and Control Interface Units, Multi-role Electro-Optic End-to-End test set, Card Memory, Smart Cards, and Support Equipment, Consumables, and Flight Test/Certification. Also included are tools and test equipment, support equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical documents, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance, and other related elements of logistics and program support.
The systems will be installed on a pair of Boeing 747-800 jets, at an estimated cost of up to $110 million. The prime contractor will be Northrop Grumman Corporation of Rolling Meadows, IL, and if the sale goes through, implementation will require multiple U.S. Government or contractor personnel in Qatar over a period of 10 years.
The Qatar Amiri Flight has a number of large VIP aircraft. A Boeing 747SP is the largest example, but it uses a different color scheme and is owned by former Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani. The QEF had 2 Boeing 747-8 VVIP jets on order, which were in Germany for cabin outfitting as of December 2012. A lot of people are wondering about the liveries and the owners, and it looks like it may be a purchase of 1 plane each for the current Sultan and his father. A pair of 4-engined A340s are the QAF’s next largest planes, and the VIP squadron also flies an Airbus 300, an A310, an A320, 2 Boeing 707s, and a Boeing 727.
