Army looks to field guided missile laser jammer by 2010

Above: Flares from an AH-60 Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) are automatically activated after a separate detection system issues an alert to the pilot. The flares deflect heat-seeking missiles away from their target. The The Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (ATICM), which will be used in conjunction with CMWS, has the advantage of disabling a missile at far greater distances. Both systems were placed into development after the missile downing of a Chinook helicopter in Iraq with the loss of 15 lives. The Army is testing the ATIRCM for use in combat by 2010.

The Army is buying a high-tech laser jammer able to thwart guided-missile attacks on helicopters, Army officials said. The advanced system uses an infrared sensor designed to track an approaching missile, then fires a high-powered, multiband heat laser to intercept the missile and throw it off course.

The Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures... is configured to work in tandem with the ultraviolet flare dispenser, the Common Missile Warning System now on all Army aircraft. BAE is delivering the CMWS under a separate $1.4 billion deal with the Army struck in 2003.

The Army plan is to field the ATIRCM in conjunction with the CMWS across all Army aviation platforms such as Black Hawks, Chinooks and Apaches.

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