Lockheed Martin, along with industry partners DRS Technologies and Daylight Defense, submitted a proposal for the Technology Demonstration phase of the U.S. Army's Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) program.

Lockheed Martin's CIRCM solution works with the U.S. Army's existing Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) to provide rotary-wing aircraft with a laser-based countermeasure for current and emerging threats. Lockheed Martin's solution integrates Daylight Defense's quantum cascade laser with pointer tracker units from DRS Technologies in a unique distributed aperture design.

"Our proven industry team offers the systems integration experience and hardware expertise to deliver a best-value CIRCM solution," said Valerie Potthoff, Platform Survivability Program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

"Our distributed aperture design has already demonstrated the ability to defeat threats in government-conducted flight tests."

As lead systems integrator, Lockheed Martin leverages more than 30 years of experience in infrared missile-warning system development and production, as well as experience in laser pointer/tracker technology for a CIRCM solution that meets all program requirements and provides rotary-wing aviators with an additional margin of protection.

"Our solution balances the need for a lightweight system and a flight-tested, scalable system that addresses both current needs and growth for future threats," said Potthoff.