Northrop Grumman’s Directional Infrared Countermeasures System Exceeds One Million Operational Hours

By Northrop Grumman Corporation, PRNE
Sunday, June 19, 2011

PARIS, June 20, 2011 -


Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) today announced that
its directional infrared countermeasures system (DIRCM), currently
deployed with U.S. and allied forces, has achieved more than one
million operational hours in service.  

“DIRCM continues to be the standard for military aircraft
protection, a system that is most called upon to assure mission
success and the safe return of our troops, as indicated by the one
million operational hours milestone,” said Jeff Palombo, sector
vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman’s Land and
Self Protection Systems Division. “Northrop Grumman is not sitting
back. We continue to invest in next-generation technology to keep
us and our industry partners at the forefront of this
capability.

“Of the more than one million hours accumulated to date, the
majority have been logged under deployed and combat conditions,
with an operational availability of over 99 percent for the past 13
consecutive years - performance unequaled in industry,” Palombo
added.

The combat-proven system functions automatically by detecting a
missile launch, determining if it is a threat and activating a
high-intensity laser-based countermeasures system to track and
defeat the missile.

Northrop Grumman’s IRCM systems are now installed or scheduled
for installation on several hundred military aircraft across the
Department of Defense to protect approximately 50 different types
of large fixed-wing transports and rotary-wing platforms from
infrared missile attacks. 

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace,
electronics, information systems, and technical services to
government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit href="www.northropgrumman.com/">www.northropgrumman.com
for more information.

Katie Lamb-Heinz, Paris Air Show, +1-847-815-0755, katie.lamb at ngc.com; or Ellen Hamilton, +1-224-625-4693, ellen.hamilton at ngc.com

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