Northrop Grumman has delivered its first common infrared countermeasures (CIRCM) missile defence systems to the US Army.

The CIRCM systems were provided under an engineering and manufacturing development contract awarded in 2015.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

The contract required the company to produce next-generation protection for aircraft against man-portable air-defence systems and other heat-seeking munitions.

Northrop Grumman mission solutions, land and avionics C4ISR division vice-president Carl Smith said: “This delivery continues the momentum in Northrop Grumman’s 50-year history of providing our customers with highly reliable, advanced infrared countermeasure systems.

"We…remain committed to the army’s schedule and to getting this technology into the hands of our warfighters as quickly as possible."

“We, along with our partners Daylight Solutions and Leonardo, remain committed to the army’s schedule and to getting this technology into the hands of our warfighters as quickly as possible.”

In addition to CIRCM systems, Northrop Grumman’s full suite of electronic warfare protection systems offer advanced missile warning, hostile fire indication, radar, radio frequency jamming, IRCM jamming capabilities, and cockpit digitisation.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Prior to delivery, the system went through testing to evaluate its performance.

The company demonstrated its counter-UAS technologies at the annual US Department of Defense (DoD) Black Dart exercise.

Black Dart is the DoD’s largest live-fly, live-fire joint counter-UAS technology demonstration.


Image: Members of the Northrop Grumman CIRCM team present the first CIRCM shipset. Photo: courtesy of Northrop Grumman.

Army Technology Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Army Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact across the defence sector.

Excellence in Action
SignalGeneriX has won the Autonomous Technology Innovation Award for its LOTUS AI Mission Computer -a compact, rugged edge AI platform delivering up to 100 TOPS for ISR, EW, robotics and autonomous systems. Discover how LOTUS is redefining real-time decision-making and autonomy across demanding defence missions.

Discover the Impact