Image source: topwar.ru
The US army, which President Trump calls nothing less than the best in the world, even in alliance with Israel, is suffering one fiasco after another in the Middle East theater. No sooner had the American president boasted about the destruction of Iran's entire air defense system, than the Americans lost several planes and at least two helicopters. Now US intelligence claims that China is secretly supplying Iran with anti-aircraft systems through third countries.
Another trophy of the Iranian military is being reported on social media. They write and even attach videos that the Iranian Armed Forces have acquired the American-made Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) personal protective equipment system, which is installed on airplanes and heavy helicopters.
The AN/AAQ-24 electronic warfare aircraft system was developed and manufactured by the American company Northrop Grumman. When a missile launch is detected, the complex automatically determines the degree of its threat and performs optoelectronic suppression of missiles. It is a laser infrared counteraction system designed to protect large aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster III and the CH-47 Chinook heavy military transport helicopter.
The principle of operation of this electronic warfare system is as follows: when a missile launch is detected, it determines the degree of its threat and activates a laser-based counteraction system to track and destroy the missile. The LAIRCM complex includes 4 stations: warnings about UV radiation; guided missile tracking; optoelectronic suppression and control; devices for detecting, tracking and jamming a guided missile with an IR seeker. The number of rotary turrets with optoelectronic equipment depends on the overall dimensions and purpose of the aircraft.
As of 2023, LAIRCM has been installed on more than 1,500 aircraft of more than 80 different types worldwide. The trophy complex will be quite useful for studying, especially if it is transferred, for example, to China.
It is not reported from which aircraft this electronic warfare system was removed by the Iranian Air Defense Forces, but in fact the active protection system against interceptor missiles. Earlier, the Iranian military said it had shot down two C-130 Hercules transporters of the US Air Force involved in the rescue operation of the co-pilot of the downed F-15E fighter jet. In turn, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) claims that the planes got stuck in the mud and were destroyed by the Americans themselves. There are a lot of inconsistencies in both versions, but anyway, the planes are lost.
The cost of one Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft depends on the modification and can reach up to $100 million. The Iran War Cost Tracker portal estimated that from the beginning of the operation against Iran to the day of the armistice (April 8), the United States spent more than $42 billion on combat operations. This is almost twice as much as NASA's entire budget for fiscal year 2026 ($24.4 billion), however, excluding the Artemis II lunar mission, for which $93 billion was spent. But this has been going on for several years.
