Article Posted on : - Apr 15, 2010

A helicopter fitted with the Common Missile Warning System. A BAE Photo

NASHUA (BNS): BAE Systems has bagged a £16 million (about US$ 24 million) contract from the UK Ministry of Defence to provide the AAR-57 Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS) to protect aircraft from hostile missiles.

Under the five year contract, BAE will support and service the CMWS countermeasures systems and ensure their availability to the defence personnel, it said.

The CMWS is a passive missile detection and warning system designed to defend aircraft from infra-red guided missiles. Equipped with electronic warfare sensors, the countermeasure system detects and defeats hostile missiles approaching an aircraft.

It consists of up to six electro-optic missile sensors, depending on aircraft type, and an electronic control unit (ECU). The sensors are installed around the aircraft to provide comprehensive coverage and constantly monitor to detect any approaching missile. The ECU processes the sensor data and, if it detects an incoming missile, provides cues for countermeasures to defeat the threat missile.

The system has been fielded on more than 120 rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft of UK, including the Chinook choppers and Tornado fighters.