Northrop Grumman's AN/AAQ-24 (V) NEMESIS system is currently in use by the military in both the United States and the United Kingdom. When NEMESIS detects a missile launch, it determines if it is a threat, warns the aircrew and activates its high-power, countermeasure system to track and defeat the threat. Proven against 35 missiles in totally autonomous live fire tests, the system is in production, and is being installed on a wide array of front-line aircraft.
The loser in the original ATIRCM competition, DIRCM, has not gained as much from ATIRCM’s troubles as it might have, but it has firmed up as a solid competitor. DIRCM’s design initially mounts a directed IR xenon arc lamp, with a laser system planned as a retrofit, while ATIRCM will not be produced until the laser is ready. Advanced configurations -- incorporating a two-color missile warning sensor and laser-based transmitters -- offer lightweight, low drag, high performance options for specific missions.
The AN/AAQ-24(V) NEMESIS system protects large fixed-wing transports and small rotary-wing aircraft from the infrared missile threat by automatically detecting a missile launch, determining if it is a threat and activating a high-intensity countermeasure system to track and defeat the threat. In 1999, USSOCOM awarded Northrop Grumman a contract modification to produce and install DIRCM systems on 59 Special Operations C-130 aircraft.
The AN/AAQ-24 Directional Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) program is one of the US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM’s) highest priority acquisition programs. This urgently needed aircraft self-protection suite will provide fast and accurate threat detection, processing, tracking, and countermeasures to defeat current and future generation infrared missile threats. DIRCM is designed for installation on a wide range of rotary and fixed-wing aircraft. For USSOCOM, the system will be installed on all of Air Force Special Operations Command’s (AFSOCS’s) AC–130 gunships and MC–130 Combat Talon aircraft.
Growth to counter more sophisticated threats is incorporated into the program by providing a path that allows for direct insertion of a laser-based countermeasure when an all-band laser is developed. These capabilities made the DIRCM system, and others like it, strong candidates during USSOCOM’s initial evaluation of the options available.