Sanders IR Countermeasures (SICM) System

Sanders Design International (SDI), Wilton, NH proposes an innovative defensive countermeasure against man portable air defense system (MANPADS) weapons to 15,000 feet altitude. Sanders Infrared Counter Measure (SICM) system is proposed for installation on commercial airliners and legacy military aircraft for protection of aircraft and personnel, during take-off, low-level flight, and landing situations. The SICM uses infrared deceptive jamming, causing MANPAD missiles to veer off course with wide miss distances without need for a missile warning system. SICM is based on low cost, proven technology, which is non-intrusive to aircraft structural integrity. The SICM is effective against single or multiple launched MANPADS available to terrorist factions, including the ubiquitous SA-7, SA-14, SA-16, SA-18, and Stinger heat seeking missiles. The SICM includes dual-band infrared (DBIR) deceptive jammers to effectively counter first generation and advanced MANPADS missiles. Compact DBIR jammers are retractable wingtip and tail-tip mounted to provide hyper-spherical coverage. Aircraft with wingspans of 50 to over 200 feet can be protected by SICM. Large aircraft (e.g., B-737 up to B-747) use combined wingtip and tail-tip mounted DBIR jammers for maximum effectiveness. Retractable DBIR jammers improve in-flight fuel savings dramatically compared to laser based systems by eliminating drag at cruise altitudes.