The German Air Force will equip 23 A400M with the DIRCM system to enable tactical operations in areas where there is the threat of MANPADS.
Elbit Systems has been awarded a contract by Airbus Defence and Space to supply its J-MUSIC Directed Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM) to equip the German Air Force’s A400M fleet. The contract, worth approximately $260 million, is planned to be executed over a 6-year period, says the company in a statement released on Jul. 28, 2025.
The announcement by Elbit follows a procurement decision by the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Operations of the Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), which in June 2025 contracted Airbus to equip 23 Luftwaffe A400Ms with DIRCM systems. The 23 aircraft selected for the upgrade are those assigned to tactical operations, including medical evacuation missions in crisis zones.
The selection of J-MUSIC to equip the A400M also follows the similar decision to equip the German C-130Js with the Leonardo Miysis DIRCM, announced on Jul. 10, 2025. In that case Germany decided to equip it entire fleet of three C-130Js and three KC-130Js with the new DIRCM system.
DIRCM for the A400M
As we reported in June 2025 here at The Aviationist, Airbus secured a contract from the BAAINBw to equip 23 A400Ms with an unspecified DIRCM system by Elbit, which we know is the J-MUSIC. Under the agreement, Airbus will not only oversee the integration of the DIRCM systems, but will also provide associated services including training, tooling, and service bulletins.
It appears that this is not the first time Germany attempts to install J-MUSIC on the A400M, as Elbit System was already awarded a contract in 2019 by Diehl Defence to integrate the system into the A400M’s Defense Aid Support Systems (DASS) protection suite. It is unclear however what happened to that previous contract.
In that case, Sasson Meshar, vice-president for airborne electro-optic systems at Elbit, explained to Janes that the contract covered an initial batch of 12 J-MUSIC turrets. Each aircraft was planned to be equipped with three turrets, of which one under the fuselage and one on either side of the aft fuselage , to ensure maximum coverage against threats. The aircraft would also receive four or five passive IR-based missile warning receivers.
In Janes’ report, Meshar mentioned that the Luftwaffe was looking to split its A400M fleet into a tactical fleet of 24–32 aircraft fitted with J-MUSIC and a non-tactical fleet which would operate out of danger areas. The reasoning is the same that was recently announced with the 23 aircraft to be now equipped with J-MUSIC, while the remaining aircraft will be used for standard long-range transport missions in less contested airspace.
The system is already being tested in Seville, Spain, on a German Air Force A400M. Certification is expected by summer 2025, with full fleet retrofit planned to be completed by 2032. The aircraft will receive the new system during scheduled maintenance cycles at Airbus facilities in Manching, Getafe, and Seville.
Germany is the largest operator of the A400M, with a planned fleet of 53 aircraft, although the original order included 60 aircraft. More than 42 A400Ms have been delivered to Air Transport Wing 62 at Wunstorf Air Base, with the final aircraft expected by the end of 2026.
J-MUSIC
J-MUSIC (Commercial MUlti-Spectral Infrared Countermeasure) is a DIRCM system designed to protect large aircraft against heat-seeking ground-to-air missiles (MANPADS – Man Portable Air Defense Systems) missiles. Produced by the Israeli Elbit Systems company, the system uses advanced fiber laser technology together with a high frame rate thermal camera and a small, highly dynamic mirror turret to detect and then divert heat seeking Infra-Red missiles by disturbing their guidance systems.
“The integration of advanced laser technology with high-performance imaging systems, enables the system to detect, track, and disrupt incoming missile threats in real time, providing autonomous protection without requiring crew intervention,” says the company. J-MUSIC is already used by other military operators in Europe, such as NATO with the A330 MRTT fleet.
“J-MUSIC is light-weight, compact, and easily installed on a broad range of aircraft types, in both single and multi-turret configurations,” explains the product’s page. “The open architecture solution can also be integrated with various Missile Warning Systems (MWS) for the most comprehensive level of protection in the civil and military market.”
The mention of the civil market is not casual, as J-MUSIC is a close relative of C-MUSIC, the podded variant of the system installed on Israeli airliners and many VIP aircraft around the world. In that case, the system is contained in a single fuselage-mounted pod which includes a DIRCM turret and the MWS.
