U. S. AIR FORCE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES LIVE-FIRE TESTS
OF LARGE AIRCRAFT INFRARED COUNTERMEASURES SYSTEM
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. -- Sept. 16, 2002 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system, chosen by the U.S. Air Force to protect its transport aircraft from the threat of heat-seeking missiles, has successfully completed live missile fire tests and has entered low-rate initial production……………
http://www.capitolsource.net/press_releases/laircm_livefire.html
Very interesting. Using google, I found accounts about this system going back years. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Israel has either gotten its hands on some of these or has duplicated the functionality itself.