Northrop Grumman [NOC] has resumed production of the Army’s next generation helicopter missile-defense system, after BAE Systems withdrew its protest of the $35 million common infrared countermeasures (CIRCM) contract award in November.

Northrop Grumman is on its way to delivering 21 CIRCM systems, the components of which work together to detect, identify and disable or destroy incoming guided-missile threats. Each shipset includes a CIRCM processor, two jamming lasers and two pointer-trackers.

“We appreciate the resolution of this matter and have resumed work on this critical capability to protect our troops,” a Northrop Grumman spokesperson said in an email Dec. 16.

BAE filed its protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Sept. 8, and eventually came to an agreement with the Army regarding its award of CIRCM engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contracts to Northrop Grumman. The protest was voluntarily withdrawn on Nov. 25, according to the company and a listing on the GAO website.

“BAE Systems and the U.S. Army have reached a settlement agreement regarding BAE Systems’ protest of the Army’s source selection for the CIRCM EMD program. As a result of this agreement, BAE Systems has withdrawn its protest through the Government Accountability Office,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Despite our disappointment over the outcome of the CIRCM EMD competition, BAE Systems remains steadfast in its commitment to continue to develop and field lifesaving protection systems for U.S. and allied aircrews.”

Northrop Grumman beat out incumbent BAE on Aug. 28 for the $35 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, fixed-price incentive and firm-fixed-price hybrid contract with options for EMD and low-rate initial production (LRIP) of CIRCM. The Army’s current missile warning system is BAE’s Common Missile Warning System (CMWS), which is responsible for identifying and countering incoming guided missile threats.

BAE protested the decision within days, forcing the Army to issue Northrop Grumman a stop-work order on CIRCM production.

“Following a careful review of the debrief received from the Army customer, we have identified some inconsistencies,” BAE spokesman Paul Roberts said in an email at the time. GAO was set to rule on the protest by Dec. 17.

The contract includes options for LRIP of the CIRCM system to be installed eventually on all the Army’s helicopters. The contract also carries an option for development of installation kits for CIRCM onto various rotorcraft platforms, including electric wiring, mounting brackets and mechanical parts, he said. There are options for installation kits for the Ch-47 Chinook, the UH-60M/L Black Hawk and AH-64D/E Apache. The UH-60M will be the first helicopter outfitted with CIRCM for flight testing, the Army has said.