The Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, has awarded Northrop Grumman a $49.5 million contract for the first delivery of hardware and support in the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) program. Northrop officials say the ceiling for the total five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract is $3.2 billion. Northrop will be working on C-17 and C-130 transports.
While the Pentagon is halfway through its review of the Air Force’s new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program in the wake of “critical” cost and schedule overruns, the service has declared a similar issue for the helicopters meant to provide security and transport across those ICBM fields. The Air Force recently…