Guardian™ Anti-Missile System.-

The Northrop Grumman Guardian is a passive anti-missile countermeasure system designed specifically to protect commercial airliners from shoulder-launched missiles (MANPADS), using directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) technology.

The extensive proliferation of MANPADS has resulted in a marked increase of MANPADS attacks on commercial airliners, including the failed 2002 Mombasa airliner attack, the 2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident and the 2007 Mogadishu TransAVIAexport Airlines Il-76 crash. According to the U.S. State Department, over 40 civilian aircraft have been hit with MANPADS since 1970, with about 400 passengers and crewmembers killed. Of these, six were airliners.

The Guardian incorporates existing infrared countermeasures military technology, adapted from the AAQ-24 Nemesis system installed on C-17 Globemaster III, MC-130, CV-22, and the CH-53E Super Stallion, in a commercial package that has been tested and certified by the FAA.

Guardian is designed to operate autonomously, without input from the flight crew. An array of sensors detects a missile approaching the aircraft and passes this information to an infrared tracking camera. The system's computer analyses the input signals, to confirm that the threat is real, and then directs a beam of an eye-safe infrared laser at the incoming object. The laser is intended to introduce a false target into the missile's guidance system, causing it to turn away from the aircraft. The detect-track-jam process lasts for two to three seconds. The system then automatically notifies the pilot and air traffic control that a threat has been jammed.

The system is wholly contained in an external, 460 mm (18 inch) high pod that weighs 250 kg (550 lb) and is mounted to the underside of the fuselage. The pod is removable, and can be transferred to another aircraft within an hour. The system costs US$1 million per aircraft, and, when ongoing maintenance costs are also considered, Northrop Grumman estimates that the system will cost each passenger an additional dollar in ticket price.