US Army Awards Multiyear Order for AN/ALQ-212 Protection Systems

Released on Tuesday, October 12, 2004

The US Army has awarded BAE Systems a five-year procurement contract for the delivery of up to 484 AN/ALQ-212 protection systems. The low-rate initial production contract also includes associated spares, test equipment, and various technical support.

Final deliveries of AN/ALQ-212 systems issued in this contract are scheduled in 2009. BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems unit in Nashua, New Hampshire, is responsible for the entire program. The contract, if all options are exercised, is valued at $484 million. The US Army public procurement plans call for approximately 2,700 of such systems valued at $3.3 billion to be acquired through the entire life of the program.

US Army Aviation rotary and fixed-wing aircraft will be well protected against IR missile threats by ALQ-212s. The AN/ALQ-212 combines the proven AAR-57 Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) RWR with the Advanced Thread Infrared Countermeasures (ATIRCM) uses flares and a directable jamming subsystem to divert incoming missile threats.

The modular design of the ALQ-212 protection system allows to first integrate the CMWS subsystem that can be combined with flare dispensers with ease. The ATIRCM portion can be added later setting the fully functional ALQ-212 up. The final protection system can operate automatically and autonomously detecting and defeating incoming threats equipped with an infrared seeker. ATIRCM works steering a beam of modulated jamming energy onto the missile's infrared seeker.

The US Army Aviation also expects to use the CMWS in stand-alone mode on fixed and rotary wing aircraft. The first delivery order comprising 50 CMWS was awarded September 10 and is valued at $27.8 million.