|
 Tom Kirkpatrick, who runs the program for BAE's U.S. unit, said
the company was already in talks with several countries in the
Middle East and other areas about potential orders for BAE's
Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (ATIRCM) system.
He said some of those discussions had been under way for several
years, and BAE could finalize an initial foreign deal before year's
end. Ideally, he said, BAE would bundle several different orders to
drive prices lower, but gave no details about the potential price of
the system.
BAE's ATIRCM system uses a separate missile warning system that is
installed on the aircraft to detect incoming missiles and then emits
a high-energy laser beam to blind the missile and prevent it from
homing in on the aircraft.
 Kirkpatrick said Washington had approved the sale of ATIRCM for use
on foreign military aircraft and planes used to transport heads of
state.
He said the system would be particularly attractive to countries
that operate Boeing Co CH-47 Chinook helicopters, since they are
already fitted with BAE's Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) and
could be easily and quickly fitted with the ATIRCM system, which has
been used on key U.S. Army aircraft since 2009.
Northrop Grumman Corp already sells a similar system overseas to
defend against so-called man-portable missile launchers.
[to top of second column] |
Kirkpatrick said a key selling point of BAE's system was its high
reliability rate, which is three times higher than the requirement
set by the U.S. Army.
"That means the pilots can go on hundreds and hundreds of missions
without ever thinking about maintenance of the system," he said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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