
Northrop Grumman’s [NOC] Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) system for Army helicopters has achieved initial operational capability (IOC), the company said on Thursday. The IOC milestone will allow for accelerated fielding of the laser-based protection system on more than 1,500 Army helicopters, according to Northrop Grumman. “CIRCM’s ability to track and rapidly defeat infrared-guided threats has been validated over thousands of hours of rigorous testing in laboratory, flight and live-fire test environments,” Bob Gough, Northrop Grumman’s vice president for navigation, targeting…