Tel Aviv: Israeli company Elbit Systems was awarded a $ 80 million contract to supply Direct Infrared Counter Measures (“DIRCM”) and airborne Electronic Warfare (“EW”) systems for a country in Asia-Pacific. The contract will be performed over a two-year period.
Under the contract, Elbit Systems will provide C-MUSIC DIRCM systems together with the Company’s Infra-Red-based Passive Airborne Warning Systems (IR-PAWS), for several aircraft types, providing high levels of protection and redundancy. These systems have accumulated hundreds of thousands of flight hours to date, and have been selected by numerous customers to equip more than 25 types of aircraft. Customers include Israel, Germany, NATO’s multinational fleet and others.
Oren Sabag, General Manager of Elbit Systems ISTAR & EW, commented: “The rising threat that aircraft face from shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles increases the demand for certified and operationally proven self-protection systems. Our capability to provide a complete and tested solution well positions us to address this growing need.”
The threat of MANPADS has grown considerably over the last few years. Elbit Systems Electro-optics Elop’s C-MUSIC systems are a family of DIRCM (Directed IR Counter Measures) solutions for protecting aircraft against heat seeking ground to air missiles.
According to Elbit, these systems integrate advanced fibre laser technology together with a high rate thermal camera and a small, highly dynamic mirror turret to provide effective, reliable and affordable protection to all types of aircraft and under all operational conditions.
Elbit DIRCM solutions include the following versions –
MUSIC – A DIRCM system for the protection of helicopters and small to medium fixed-wing turboprop aircraft. This system has been selected by the Italian Air Force and is planned to be installed (in a dual turret configuration) on the C-130J, C-27J, AW101 and CSAR helicopters. The system has already been supplied and installed on VIP helicopters.
J-MUSIC – A DIRCM system for the protection of large aircraft (heavy transporters, tankers VIP jets, etc.). This system uses the same DIRCM as is in the C-MUSIC. The system can be easily integrated on any type of aircraft, in a single or dual turret configuration. The J-MUSIC was selected for Embraer’s KC-390 program in Brazil.
C-MUSIC – A complete self-protection solution (including the J-MUSIC DIRCM and the PAWS IR Missile warning System), installed in an aerodynamic pod and especially designed for the protection of civil and VIP large jets. This system was selected by the Israeli government for the protection of its entire commercial airlines fleet and was designed to meet the requirements of both commercial certification and protection of large aircraft.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
