Common Infrared Countermeasures program: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:07, 8 September 2011

Revision as of 19:07, 8 September 2011

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"Due to reliability, cost, and weight issues, I have limited the production and fielding of the ATIRCM subprogram to 83 fully configured end items in order to address a validated urgent operational need for CH-47 helicopters operating in Overseas Contingency Operations ([[OCO]]),”<ref>{{cite web|last=Brannen|first=Kate|title=DoD: Too Late for ATIRCM Alternatives|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4653137|publisher=Defense News|accessdate=7 September 2011}}</ref> said Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Dr. Ashton Carter on his decision to limit the ATIRCM Program.

The Army began fielding the ATIRCM Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) system on 83 CH-47s supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009,. The USD(AT&L) limited the ATIRCM QRC program to these specific aircraft, as the current combined weight of the ATIRCM/CMWS suite is unsustainably high. DoD planners set the CIRCM target weight at 85 pounds for the jamming B-kit with two turrets., while the supporting A-kit is capped at 70 pounds for large rotorcraft like the Chinook and V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, or 35 pounds for smaller helicopters like the Black Hawk.<ref>{{cite web|last=Colucci|first=Frank|title=Common Countermeasures|url=http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/issue/feature/Common-Countermeasures_71251.html|publisher=Avionics Magazine Online|accessdate=29 August 2011}}</ref>

ATIRCM failed during aerial cable range tests in 2004, according to Army documents, and service officials have said they want to field a cheaper, lighter system for their remaining helicopters, which will integrate smoothly with systems like CMWS and the Joint and Allied Threat Awareness System (JATAS), across all branches of the military.<ref>{{cite web|last=Malenic|first=Marina|title=Firms Eye Helo Protection Contract As Army Seeks New Low-Cost Solution|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6712/is_17_248/ai_n56366701/|publisher=CBS Interactive Business Network|accessdate=2 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Suite of Infrared Countermeasures [SIIRCM]|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/systems/siircm-program.htm|publisher=GlobalSecurity.org|accessdate=7 September 2011}}</ref>

=== ATIRCM Nunn-McCurdy Breach ===

The [[Nunn-McCurdy]] provision introduced in 1982 by Senator [[Sam Nunn]] and Congressman [[Dave McCurdy]] requires that any defense program that increases in cost by more than 15% over its acquisition cycle must be reported to congressCongress and either restructured beor fully explained by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In June of 2010, then Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Dr. Ashton Carter made such a report on the ATIRCM program.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brannen|first=Kate|title=DoD: Too Late for ATIRCM Alternatives|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4653137|publisher=Defense News|accessdate=7 September 2011}}</ref>

In a June 2010 letter to Representative [[Ike Skelton]], D-Mo., Carter explained how restructuring the ATIRCM/CMWS program caused a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy statute, since, when military officials determined the ATIRCM system to be too heavy for any helicopter except the CH-47, the purchase quantity had to be substantially reduced - down to 83 units. This caused the unit cost to rise significantly above Nunn-McCurdy limits.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brannen|first=Kate|title=DoD: Too Late for ATIRCM Alternatives|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4653137|publisher=Defense News|accessdate=7 September 2011}}</ref> "Due to reliability, cost, and weight issues, I have limited the production and fielding of the ATIRCM subprogram to 83 fully configured end items in order to address a validated urgent operational need for CH-47 helicopters operating in Overseas Contingency Operations" Carter wrote in his letter to Skelton.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brannen|first=Kate|title=DoD: Too Late for ATIRCM Alternatives|url=http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4653137|publisher=Defense News|accessdate=7 September 2011}}</ref> As part of the Nunn-McCurdy certification process, in which the Pentagon explains the cost growth to Congress and reaffirms why the program is still essential to national security, officials have to show that lower-cost alternatives are not available. This is partly why the DoD has stipulated that the CIRCM system will need to integrate with existing and future detection systems whilstwhile also dramatically reducing unit weight.

== Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) ==

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The DoD requires that CIRCM implement a Modular Open System Approach (MOSA) to integrate jamming lasers, missile trackers and missile warning receivers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Colucci|first=Frank|title=Common Countermeasures|url=http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/issue/feature/Common-Countermeasures_71251.html|publisher=Avionics Magazine Online|accessdate=29 August 2011}}</ref>

US military Helicopter losses to MANPAD systems prompted Army Aviation to field the BAE Systems AAR-57 Common Missile Warning System (CMWS), to locate incoming missiles accurately. The Navy continues development of the Joint and Allied Threat Awareness System (JATAS) to integrate Missile Warning Receiver, Hostile Fire Indicator and Laser Warning Receiver functions. MOSA interfaces will make it possible for CIRCM to take cues from both warning systems. It is important for reasons of expediency and cost that when a CIRCM system is chosen and fielded on US aircraft, that it be backward compatible with CMWS, and forward compatible with JATAS, according to Army Lt. Col. Raymond Pickering, product manager for infrared countermeasures at the Program Executive Office-Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors ([[PEO IEWS]]).<ref>{{cite web|last=Colucci|first=Frank|title=Common Countermeasures|url=http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/issue/feature/Common-Countermeasures_71251.html|publisher=Avionics Magazine Online|accessdate=29 August 2011}}</ref>

The program is currently in the technology maturation phase, and all competitors will be emphasizing the reliability and adherence of their systems to the modular open system architecture, which has prompted bidders to seek a competitive edge over and above the requirements of the DoD.<ref>{{cite web|last=Trimble|first=Stephen|title=CIRCM bidders consider ways to dazzle US Army budgeters|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/07/21/359718/circm-bidders-consider-ways-to-dazzle-us-army-budgeters.html|publisher=FlightGlobal.com|accessdate=2 September 2011}}</ref>