The German Air Power will equip 23 A400M with the DIRCM system to allow tactical operations in areas the place there may be the specter of MANPADS.
Elbit Techniques has been awarded a contract by Airbus Defence and Area to produce its J-MUSIC Directed Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM) to equip the German Air Power’s A400M fleet. The contract, value roughly $260 million, is deliberate to be executed over a 6-year interval, says the corporate in a press release launched on Jul. 28, 2025.
The announcement by Elbit follows a procurement determination by the Federal Workplace for Tools, Data Know-how and Operations of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), which in June 2025 contracted Airbus to equip 23 Luftwaffe A400Ms with DIRCM methods. The 23 plane chosen for the improve are these assigned to tactical operations, together with medical evacuation missions in disaster zones.
The choice of J-MUSIC to equip the A400M additionally follows the same determination to equip the German C-130Js with the Leonardo Miysis DIRCM, introduced on Jul. 10, 2025. In that case Germany determined to equip it total fleet of three C-130Js and three KC-130Js with the brand new DIRCM system.
DIRCM for the A400M
As we reported in June 2025 right here at The Aviationist, Airbus secured a contract from the BAAINBw to equip 23 A400Ms with an unspecified DIRCM system by Elbit, which we all know is the J-MUSIC. Below the settlement, Airbus won’t solely oversee the combination of the DIRCM methods, however may also present related providers together with coaching, tooling, and repair bulletins.
It seems that this isn’t the primary time Germany makes an attempt to put in J-MUSIC on the A400M, as Elbit System was already awarded a contract in 2019 by Diehl Defence to combine the system into the A400M’s Protection Support Assist Techniques (DASS) safety suite. It’s unclear nonetheless what occurred to that earlier contract.
In that case, Sasson Meshar, vice-president for airborne electro-optic methods at Elbit, defined to Janes that the contract coated an preliminary batch of 12 J-MUSIC turrets. Every plane was deliberate to be geared up with three turrets, of which one beneath the fuselage and one on both aspect of the aft fuselage , to make sure most protection in opposition to threats. The plane would additionally obtain 4 or 5 passive IR-based missile warning receivers.
In Janes’ report, Meshar talked about that the Luftwaffe was trying to cut up its A400M fleet right into a tactical fleet of 24–32 plane fitted with J-MUSIC and a non-tactical fleet which might function out of hazard areas. The reasoning is identical that was just lately introduced with the 23 plane to be now geared up with J-MUSIC, whereas the remaining plane will likely be used for normal long-range transport missions in much less contested airspace.
The system is already being examined in Seville, Spain, on a German Air Power A400M. Certification is anticipated by summer season 2025, with full fleet retrofit deliberate to be accomplished by 2032. The plane will obtain the brand new system throughout scheduled upkeep cycles at Airbus services in Manching, Getafe, and Seville.
Germany is the biggest operator of the A400M, with a deliberate fleet of 53 plane, though the unique order included 60 plane. Greater than 42 A400Ms have been delivered to Air Transport Wing 62 at Wunstorf Air Base, with the ultimate plane anticipated by the tip of 2026.
J-MUSIC
J-MUSIC (Business MUlti-Spectral Infrared Countermeasure) is a DIRCM system designed to guard massive plane in opposition to heat-seeking ground-to-air missiles (MANPADS – Man Transportable Air Protection Techniques) missiles. Produced by the Israeli Elbit Techniques firm, the system makes use of superior fiber laser expertise along with a excessive body fee thermal digicam and a small, extremely dynamic mirror turret to detect after which divert warmth looking for Infra-Pink missiles by disturbing their steerage methods.
“The mixing of superior laser expertise with high-performance imaging methods, permits the system to detect, monitor, and disrupt incoming missile threats in actual time, offering autonomous safety with out requiring crew intervention,” says the corporate. J-MUSIC is already utilized by different army operators in Europe, equivalent to NATO with the A330 MRTT fleet.
“J-MUSIC is lightweight, compact, and simply put in on a broad vary of plane varieties, in each single and multi-turret configurations,” explains the product’s web page. “The open structure resolution can be built-in with varied Missile Warning Techniques (MWS) for probably the most complete stage of safety within the civil and army market.”
The point out of the civil market isn’t informal, as J-MUSIC is a detailed relative of C-MUSIC, the podded variant of the system put in on Israeli airliners and plenty of VIP plane around the globe. In that case, the system is contained in a single fuselage-mounted pod which features a DIRCM turret and the MWS.
