The U.S. Air Force has taken the first formal step toward equipping its newest combat rescue helicopter with laser-based missile defenses, a move that follows recent American military operations near Iranian territory and underscores growing concern about shoulder-fired missiles threatening low-altitude flights in contested airspace.
A Sources Sought notice published on the federal contracting portal SAM.gov in April 2026 under solicitation number FA8552AIRCM asks defense contractors whether they can integrate an Advanced Infrared Countermeasures (AIRCM) system onto the HH-60W Jolly Green II. The notice was issued by the AFLCMC Helicopter Sustainment Branch at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
What the solicitation reveals
The scope of work covers research, development, testing, and engineering, plus two hardware packages known in military procurement as A-Kits and B-Kits. The A-Kit includes permanent wiring, structural mounts, and avionics modifications built into the airframe. The B-Kit is the removable countermeasure unit itself. Critically, the notice states that the AIRCM hardware will be government-furnished, meaning the Air Force already possesses or controls the laser system and needs a contractor to install it.
AIRCM belongs to a family of Directed Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) technology. These systems detect an incoming heat-seeking missile, track its guidance seeker, and fire a focused laser beam to confuse or blind the missile’s infrared sensor. The U.S. military already fields DIRCM variants on transport aircraft and some rotorcraft. The AN/AAQ-24 Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures system, for example, protects C-17 transports and several special operations platforms. But the HH-60W has not previously appeared on any public list of aircraft slated for this class of protection.
Why rescue helicopters face unique risks
The HH-60W is the Air Force’s purpose-built combat search and rescue helicopter, manufactured by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, to replace the aging HH-60G Pave Hawk. It carries upgraded engines, improved avionics, and greater range. Its core mission is personnel recovery: flying into or near active fighting to extract downed pilots, special operators, or other isolated personnel.
That mission profile forces crews into exactly the threat envelope where man-portable air-defense systems, known as MANPADS, are most dangerous. These shoulder-fired weapons use infrared seekers to lock onto engine exhaust heat, and they have proliferated widely. Tens of thousands of MANPADS are estimated to exist worldwide, with variants produced by Russia, China, and Iran among others. A rescue helicopter flying low and slow near a crash site presents a high-value, high-vulnerability target.
Most helicopters currently rely on missile warning receivers paired with expendable flares that create decoy heat sources. A DIRCM system adds an active, directional layer of defense, aiming energy directly at the missile’s seeker head rather than depending on a cloud of flares that may or may not pull the missile off course. For a helicopter carrying aircrew, pararescuemen, and recovered personnel, the difference between those two approaches could determine whether anyone walks away from a mission gone wrong.
The Iran connection
The solicitation itself does not name any specific operation or theater as the catalyst for the AIRCM effort. However, the timing aligns with a period of heightened U.S. military helicopter activity in the Middle East, including operations conducted near Iranian territory. No official Air Force after-action report or declassified briefing has publicly linked the procurement action to a particular mission.
That gap matters. The connection between recent operations and this solicitation may reflect classified lessons learned that have not been disclosed, or the timing may be coincidental. Without a direct statement from Air Force leadership, the causal link remains informed speculation rather than confirmed fact. What is confirmed is that the service chose this moment to begin market research on a capability that would significantly harden the rescue fleet against infrared-guided threats.
What is still unknown
Several important details remain unresolved. The solicitation does not identify which specific AIRCM variant the Air Force plans to furnish. Multiple DIRCM systems exist in the U.S. inventory, ranging from units designed for large fixed-wing transports to compact pods built for smaller rotary-wing platforms. Which system, or which generation of the technology, will be paired with the HH-60W has not been disclosed.
The timeline is equally open. A Sources Sought notice is the earliest stage of market research. It does not commit the government to any contract award or delivery schedule. Months or even years can separate an initial request for information from a signed contract, and some never advance at all. Until a formal request for proposals appears with funding lines and delivery milestones, the AIRCM plan remains a stated intention rather than a funded program.
Funding sources are another blank. The notice does not specify which budget line or program element would pay for integration work. Whether the Air Force envisions a limited installation on a subset of aircraft or a fleet-wide retrofit requiring substantial investment over multiple fiscal years is unclear from the public record.
Where this fits in a longer pattern
The push to add laser defenses to the Jolly Green II fits a decades-long effort to harden vulnerable aircraft against evolving missile technology. The proliferation of advanced MANPADS, including Iranian-manufactured systems that have appeared in the hands of proxy forces across the Middle East and Africa, has steadily raised the stakes for any aircraft operating below 15,000 feet.
Combat rescue helicopters sit at the sharp end of that problem. They fly where the threat is highest, carry small crews who cannot be easily replaced, and perform a mission with outsized strategic and moral weight. Losing a rescue aircraft does not just cost lives and hardware. It can deter future recovery attempts and erode the confidence that every service member carries into combat: the belief that someone will come for them if they go down.
For now, the Air Force has fired a starting gun, not crossed a finish line. The solicitation confirms that planners want laser-based missile defenses on the HH-60W. Everything that follows, from vendor selection to testing to fielding, will determine whether that ambition becomes reality and how quickly it reaches the crews who fly into harm’s way.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
