Issue Brief
#10
July 24, 2001
CLIRCM:
Next Generation Counter to the Deadly IR Missile
The
U.S. Air Force faces an increasing threat to its large aircraft from deadly
heat-seeking, infrared, man portable missiles.
To counter this threat and protect its aircraft, the Air Force initiated
the Large Aircraft Infra-Red Counter-Measure (LAIRCM) program.
LAIRCM, which will go into low-rate production in FY02, is a laser-based
open‑loop IRCM configuration and is considered to be the best near term
solution available to the U.S. Air Force. This
interim solution will provide our Air Force personnel new protection from IR
threats. The accelerated development and deployment of this system signifies the
importance of protecting these assets in the near term.
The LAIRCM program is expected to equip 12 C-17 aircraft and a few C-130
aircraft with an interim defensive solution until the next generation system is
available to meet fully the Air Force requirements.
The
next generation system is in the research and development phase.
It will use advanced technology for the protection of large aircraft,
with a closed-loop infrared countermeasures (CLIRCM) capability.
CLIRCM will provide aircraft self protection from IR missiles at about
half of the cost of the initial open‑loop LAIRCM system and will enable
the system to assess the characteristics of an incoming missile and defeat its
targeting system.
The
CLIRCM technology has been under development at the Wright-Patterson Air Force
Base, Dayton, OH, for nearly three decades and is now being moved to the Air
Force Research Laboratory (Dayton, OH) Laser IRCM Flyout Experiment (LIFE)
program. Past experimentation with
critical components that were tested in an at-range static environment at AFRL-Dayton
demonstrated significant promise in the CLIRCM technology to defeat all types of
IR missiles. In fact, the U.S. Navy
borrowed the technology to demonstrate the defeat of advanced surrogate IR
imaging and line scanning sensors that will be used in the not too distant
future. The closed loop system can
rapidly identify and defeat the enemy missile.
The
Air Force conducted highly successful field testing of the LIFE system in
December 2000 at the White Sands Missile Range.
These tests proved that the CLIRCM technology provides the system
improvements that the Air Force had hoped.
The laser-based CLIRCM techniques and technology offer a tremendous
performance improvement and cost savings over the current laser-based open loop
system being procured for the LAIRCM program.
With
evolving threats of IR surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and air-to-air missiles (AAM),
as defined in the Multi-Command LAIRCM Operational Requirements Document (ORD)
for advanced IRCM protection of large aircraft, the Air Force needs to focus on
fielding a laser-based CLIRCM system. This
system will ensure that the men and women of the armed services are protected
from lethal IR SAM and AAM threats.
The
LAIRCM Phase 2 system, employing laser CLIRCM technology, could equip a Small
Scale Contingency (SSC) of 79 aircraft (C-17, C-130, KC-135) and enable Air
Force pilots to fly missions in areas such as Bosnia without having to be
concerned about being shot down by an IR missile. With the deployment of more than 500,000 IR missiles
worldwide, this is a threat that should not be ignored.
Tom
Sawyer
Member
of Congress
At the time of this article's writing, Congressman Tom Sawyer was a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He represented a northeast-Ohio district, where airships and blimps, tires and landing gear assemblies have been manufactured for defense and civilian purposes for nearly a century. As Mayor of the City of Akron from 1983-6, Sawyer led the effort to stave off the takeover of defense contractor Goodyear Aerospace by British financier Sir James Goldsmith.
Electronic Warfare Working Group
Congressman Joe Pitts, Founder and Co-Chairman
420 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202 225-2411 phone 
202 225-2013 fax