ARLINGTON, Va. - Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has awarded Leonardo DRS a three-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract for low-rate initial production of the AN/AAQ-45 Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasure (DAIRCM) aircraft survivability system.

The lightweight, integrated system protects military aircraft and crews from missile and other airborne threats in contested environments. Developed for small- and medium-sized aircraft with demanding size, weight, and integration requirements, DAIRCM combines missile warning, directed infrared countermeasures, laser warning, and hostile-fire indication in a modular system.

The U.S. Marine Corps has identified the AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopter as DAIRCM application platforms. The system is intended to replace the AAR-47 missile-warning system on a limited number of these aircraft. In addition to detecting incoming threats, DAIRCM integrates directed infrared countermeasures and expendable countermeasures to help defeat infrared-guided missiles.

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Under the contract, Leonardo DRS will provide hardware production, aircraft integration, systems engineering, program management, and logistics support. The company will manufacture DAIRCM hardware at its facilities in Dallas and San Diego. It will conduct aircraft integration and logistics activities at its Fort Walton Beach, Fla., facility.

DAIRCM has been deployed on aircraft operating under a Joint Urgent Operational Need Statement. The low-rate initial production award follows the program's Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase, during which Leonardo DRS incorporated capability and producibility enhancements into the system configuration.

The contract expands Leonardo DRS's aircraft survivability portfolio as military aircraft face increasingly complex and proliferating threats.

"This award moves the DRS DAIRCM System into low-rate initial production and expands our ability to provide critical integrated aircraft survivability capabilities to our military customers," said John Baylouny, president and chief executive officer of Leonardo DRS. "We are proud to help address evolving aircraft survivability requirements and to enhance crew protection with a cost-effective advanced integrated capability."