BAE Systems has been awarded a contract to deliver the third-generation (Gen3) common-missile warning system (CMWS) to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Under the terms of the £16.7m agreement, the company will supply an undisclosed number of units, along with user-data modules to replace some previously purchased Gen2 CMWS units and also to outfit new aircraft.
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Specific aircraft to be equipped with the new system include the UK military’s Apache, Chinook, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters.
Representing the first direct commercial sale of BAE’s Gen3 CMWS technology, the contract also brings the MoD’s procurement of CMWS units to more than 300 systems.
UK Defence Equipment Support and Technology Minister Philip Dunne said: "The award of this contract for common-missile warning systems to BAE Systems will ensure our armed forces continue to have the state-of-the-art equipment they need to protect our aircraft and helicopters.
"This system provides proven detection of missile, rocket and small-arms threats for tactical, fixed and rotary-wing aircraft."
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By GlobalDataBAE Systems Threat Management Solutions director Bill Staib said the Gen3 technology combines hostile-fire indication, missile warning and data recording capabilities into a single unit.
"Through this purchase, UK pilots will have enhanced detection of small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, improving their safety and mission effectiveness," Staib said.
The Gen3 CMWS system was also recently delivered to the US Army.
Fully compatible with existing chaff, flare and RF decoy dispensers, and laser directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) systems, the AN/AAR-57 CMWS is an automated infrared countermeasures suite designed to safeguard rotary-wing, transport and tactical aircraft against IR, surface-to-air and air-to-air missile threats.
The system provides warning cue and situational awareness for guided and unguided threats to host platform, and locates threats and dispenses countermeasures without pilot intervention.
Image: The Gen3 CMWS technology is expected to be installed on the UK military’s Apache attack helicopter. Photo: courtesy of BAE Systems.
