BAE Systems, Leonardo to Develop Interoperable Aircraft Survivability Solution

The U.S. government has asked BAE Systems and Leonardo UK to develop an interoperable aircraft survivability suite consisting of BAE Systems’ AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) and Leonardo’s Miysis Directed Infrared Countermeasure (DIRCM) System.

The combined capability will significantly aircraft survivability against advanced threats. This layered defense against new and advanced threats will protect aircraft and their crews in complex battlespaces.

BAE Systems’ AN/AAR-57 CMWS detects incoming hostile fire and missile threats, alerts crews, and automatically cues countermeasures. It is deployed across the U.S. Army’s and numerous partner nations’ rotary- and fixed-wing fleets.

The Miysis DIRCM system, developed and produced by Leonardo in Edinburgh, UK and chosen by multiple international customers, provides exceedingly dependable, persistent protection from Infrared Man Portable Air Defense Systems (IR MANPADS). It overwhelms a missile seeker head with a sudden and massive stream of coded laser energy that can defeat multiple simultaneous threats.

The BAE Systems-Leonardo solution will allow existing CMWS users to add an exportable DIRCM capability. It will maximize the effectiveness of CMWS flare decoying while enhancing aircraft survivability with an effective directed infrared countermeasure system.

AN/AAR-57 CMWS is produced at BAE Systems’ facilities in Nashua, N.H. and Huntsville, Ala.