LaBarge has been awarded a $1.6 million contract from Northrop Grumman to continue to produce electronic equipment for the AN/AAQ-24(V) Directional Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) system.

LaBarge has worked on the program for nearly a decade.

The Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system is the only operational DIRCM system in production today that is designed to protect military aircraft from infrared-guided missiles, which are growing in popularity among terrorist groups and in third world countries.

LAIRCM automatically detects a missile launch, determines if it is a threat and activates a high-intensity countermeasures system to track and defeat the threat.

LAIRCM is a modular system comprised of a family of proven components that can be mixed and matched (based on specific platform, mission and budget requirements) to protect a wide range of large and small aircraft, both rotary and fixed wing.