Common Infrared Countermeasures program: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:36, 16 February 2012

Revision as of 19:52, 9 April 2012

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The Army issued a draft request for proposals for the CIRCM contract in May 2009, opening the competitive phase for a deal to develop and install the missile jammer on thousands of helicopters and tiltrotors in US military inventory.

The winning contractor will provide an initial 1,076 systems to supply [[AH-64]] Apache, [[UH-60]] Black Hawk, [[CH-47]] Chinook and future armed scout helicopters. Currently, the DoD plans to award two or more 21-month technology development contracts first, followed by a two-year engineering and manufacturing development phase, with production to begin in 2015 and deployment in 2017. The program has an expected value of $1.5 billion.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carey|first=Bill|title=Contractors Vie for U.S. Army IR Countermeasures Program|url=http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/singleain-newsdefense-pageperspective/article2011-08-15/contractors-vie-for-us-army-ir-countermeasures-program-30822/|publisher=Aviation International News Online|accessdate=29 SeptemberApril 20112012}}</ref>

Competition is fierce for the CIRCM program, with four established industry teams vying for what seems to be one of the few new starts the armed services will pursue in a "bleak" budgetary environment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Loren|title=ITT Develops Breakthrough Design For Army Helicopter Defenses|url=http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/itt-develops-breakthrough-design-for-army-helicopter-defenses?a=1&c=1171|publisher=Lexington Institute|accessdate=29 August 2011}}</ref>