BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman [NOC] submitted proposals for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the Army’s Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) program, company officials said Monday.
CIRCM is a modular laser-based aircraft protection system designed to protect United States rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft from infrared (IR) guided missiles, according to a BAE statement. BAE’s CIRCM offering is designed to be part of a suite of IR countermeasures that also include a missile warning system and a dispenser for flares.
The Army’s current missile warning system is BAE’s Common Missile Warning System (CMWS), according to the company, which is responsible for detecting and declaring an IR threat. Both CIRCM and the dispenser receive the handoff from CMWS and provide appropriate countermeasures to defeat the threat.
BAE’s offering, called CIRCM, allows for direct or fiber coupling, which the company says provides installation flexibility to meet the size, weight and power requirements of rotary-wing and fixed-wing platforms. It also features compact pointer/tracker based on a flight-tested gimbal design, advanced laser technology, open-system architecture and non-proprietary standard interfaces.
Northrop Grumman spokeswoman Ellen Hamilton said Monday the company submitted a bid for CIRCM, but declined to provide further specifics. Northrop Grumman’s offering uses a compact Eclipse pointer/tracker, a lightweight commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processor and advanced Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) technology for greater reliability and scalability. It is also built on open architecture to work with existing hardware, simplify upgrades and keep lifecycle costs low.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] did not submit a bid, according to spokeswoman Melissa Hilliard, because the company did not participate in the CIRCM technology demonstration phase. Raytheon [RTN] also did not submit a bid, company spokesman Mike Doble said. Deadline for companies to bid for the CIRCM EMD phase was Monday.
CIRCM’s EMD phase will be a cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing arrangement, according to the Army. The CIRCM EMD effort was originally structured as a hybrid firm-fixed-price/cost-plus fixed fee (with technical performance incentives) contract. According to the draft request for proposals (RFP), the Army anticipates one contract being awarded.
The Army plans in early 2015 to award a 26-month contract for the EMD phase and delivery of 21 CIRCM systems, according to BAE. The Army said during the EMD phase, contractors must deliver eight CIRCM A-Kits and 21 CIRCM B-Kits. The first five CIRCM A-Kits must be delivered no later than seven months after contract award and the last three must be delivered no later than 17 months after award.
The first seven CIRCM B-Kits must be delivered no later than six months after contract award; the following five must be delivered no later than seven months after award and the last nine CIRCM B-Kits must be delivered no later than 14 months after award.
The Army’s rotary-wing platforms include Apaches, Black Hawks and Chinooks. Navy rotary-wing platforms contemplated for CIRCM, according to BAE spokesman Paul Roberts, include the AH-1 and MH-60. Among others, the fixed wing platforms include the C-26, Roberts said.
Both BAE and Northrop Grumman were awarded contracts in August for additional development and testing of their CIRCM offerings. Northrop Grumman received $10 million and BAE received $8 million.