Mini decoy missile

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Member for

9 years 8 months

Posts: 1,123

Would it be possible to build a small missile decoy against active radar guided missiles that would fly close to an aircraft, say 500m. When a fighter detects that a missile is launched at it, it can fire 3 or 4 of those, they would have a datalink to tell them where to fly exactly to be between the plane and the incoming missile.

Even something as small as a towed decoy can have an RCS similar to that of a fighter, so I don't think those decoys would have to be big. A plane can only use one towed decoy at a time, whereas several of these mini decoys could be launched. They don't need to have a big impulse, for the most part they need a sustained thrust for about 60 seconds or so at most. Perhaps something the size of a 70mm rocket would do the trick. The aircraft could carry a lot of those in a pod, easily 10 or more.

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Member for

7 years 7 months

Posts: 949

Would it be possible to build a small missile decoy against active radar guided missiles that would fly close to an aircraft, say 500m. When a fighter detects that a missile is launched at it, it can fire 3 or 4 of those, they would have a datalink to tell them where to fly exactly to be between the plane and the incoming missile.

Even something as small as a towed decoy can have an RCS similar to that of a fighter, so I don't think those decoys would have to be big. A plane can only use one towed decoy at a time, whereas several of these mini decoys could be launched. They don't need to have a big impulse, for the most part they need a sustained thrust for about 60 seconds or so at most. Perhaps something the size of a 70mm rocket would do the trick. The aircraft could carry a lot of those in a pod, easily 10 or more.


What you're mentioning sounds like expendable decoys.

http://www.uk.leonardocompany.com/-/britecloudlaunch

Member for

9 years 8 months

Posts: 1,123

The Brightcloud is not powered. If the decoy is a small missile, it would be possible for the fighter to continue to point towards the target to guide its own missiles, while the decoy missiles flying just ahead would attract the enemy AAMs. By doing so its missile would have a higher pk because they have mid-course updates, whereas the enemy missiles would have a low pk because of the decoys.