fudge RF ( radio detection and ranging frequency ) missiles is not unlike run from a bear . You do n’t have to outrun the threat itself but just offer up a more tasty bit instead — be that your tubby brother or , in the case of air combat , a juicy decoy with an enormous radar crossbreed - section .
The AN / ALE-50 , nicknamed “ Little Buddy , ” is a towed decoy designed to counter incoming RF missiles . Carried in an under - wing power pylon and deployed at the end of a long tow rope , the ALE-50 exploits an RF missile ’s canonical targeting function — that is , lock in on and traverse their targets by continually pinging them with radar — by confront a butt with a massive radio detection and ranging hybridisation section compare to the planer pulling it . The RF projectile interprets this larger crossing department as a big plane ( and presumably more valuable target ) and locks onto the decoy instead .
First developed in 1988 , the US Air Force , Navy , and Marines now all use this countermeasure in their F-16 , F / A-18E / F , and B-1B aircraft . It ’s learn activity in Kosovo , Afghanistan , and Iraq and has successfully intercepted missiles in both training and factual scrap . And while the $ 22,000 cost tag affixed to each of the 27,000 ALE-50 unit Raytheon has already bear to the armed forces might seem unconscionable , compared to lose a $ 66.3 million Super Hornet , they ’re a steal . [ Raytheon – Wiki – Defense Industry Daily ]
Photo : Luke – F16.net
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