Northrop Grumman [NOC] said Wednesday it received a fourth production order to deliver additional Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) systems for Army helicopters, with the deal worth $147 million.
“Our latest CIRCM production award is a recognition of our continued partnership with the U.S. Army and builds on our on-time delivery momentum,” Bob Gough, Northrop Grumman’s vice president of aircraft survivability, said in a statement. “Since reaching full-rate CIRCM production, we have driven performance and speed in delivering on our commitments to meet the Army’s needs.”
The Army in late April 2021 awarded Northrop Grumman a $959.1 million full-rate production contract for CIRCM, which is designed to protect aircraft from shoulder-fired and vehicle-launched anti-aircraft missiles (Defense Daily, May 3 2021).
In February 2023, Northrop Grumman announced the Army had achieved initial operational capability with CIRCM, meeting requirements for the service’s fleet of UH-60M Black Hawks, HH-60M MEDEVAC Black Hawks, CH-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopters and AH-64E Apaches (Defense Daily, Feb. 9 2023).
Northrop Grumman describes the new CIRCM as a “lightweight, next-generation aircraft survivability system,” noting it has delivered 500 units for the Army’s fleet.
“Where CIRCM excels is meeting the challenging size, weight and power restrictions of smaller airframes — specifically rotary wing, tiltrotor and small fixed-wing aircraft,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday. “CIRCM technology has provided more than 30,000 operational flight hours of safe passage across the Army’s AH-64, CH-47 and UH-60 aircraft.”
The company has 336 CIRCM units remaining on order, to include the systems that were part of the fourth production order officially awarded in November.