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FEBRUARY 1, 11:17 EST
CHINA LAKE NAVAL AIR WEAPONS STATION, Calif. -- U.S. Navy aviation experts are ready to move ahead with their project to develop a laser-based system to defend aircraft against infrared guided anti-aircraft missiles after a successful test last November.
The U.S. Navy's Tactical Aircraft Directable Infrared Countermeasures (TADIRCM) system completed a major test Nov. 19 that confirms that the technology is ready for the next stage of development, say officials of the system's designer, BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems division in Nashua, N.H.
The program is researching the feasibility of a deployable infrared laser countermeasures capability aboard tactical aircraft.
The test, conducted at the U.S. Naval Weapons Range at the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station near Ridgecrest, Calif., showed that an on-board laser-based directional infrared countermeasures system can defeat a modern infrared air-to-air missile launched at a tactical jet fighter, BAE officials say.
"The TADIRCM program has demonstrated that this capability is ready for the next stage of development," says Navy Capt. Robert Boyd, program executive officer at the Navy's Tactical Air Programs (PMA-272) office in Washington.
For the live fire test, the TADIRCM system was installed on an unmanned remotely controlled version of an old U.S. Navy F-4 Phantom jet fighter flying at high speed over the China Lake range. Pursuing the drone were two Air Force F-15 fighters, one of which was equipped with the infrared air-to-air missile. The F-15 locked onto the target drone and fired its missile, BAE officials say.
Aboard the drone, the two-color missile warning system -- using Naval Research Laboratory-developed algorithms -- detected the launch. Missile declaration and laser jamming by the BAE Systems "Agile Eye" IR countermeasures system occurred very rapidly, and drove the missile off course.
Military & Aerospace Electronics
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