AAQ-24

Intended to defeat infrared guided missile threats, the AN/AAQ-24 is a directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) system. After being cued onto the threat by a warning receiver such as the AN/AAR-54, t fires an intense light source, initially a xenon arc and eventually a laser, at the threatening missile, intending to overload or destroy the missile's guidance seeker.

This is an interim device, pending the deployment of a more general laser-based system, and is the first example of a new multinational approach to acquisition contracting.

Procurement began in 1993 for a United States Special Operations Command requirement, to protect aircraft such as the MC-130 COMBAT TALON, it also has been adopted by the United Kingdom &mdash; the actual customer of the manufacturer This procurement is a first example of an unusual cooperative acquisition strategy, where the UK actually manages the contract with the vendor, Northrop Grumman,while the US depends, operationally, on the device. {{citation | title = A Case for International Cooperative Acquisitions: Lessons from Developing and Executing a Section 27 "Quayle" Authority Program | journal=Acquisition Review Quarterly | date = Fall, 1998 | first1=Alan | last1 = Childress|first2= James|last2= Larson | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JZX/is_4_5/ai_77712024