초록 ▼

A system and method for an aircraft (10) that provides an IR decoy (12) for an incoming missile (18) to track instead of an engine (14) of the aircraft (10) is disclosed. The IR decoy (12) is deployed during or just after take off, and prior to landing to provide a signature (16) for any incoming mi

A system and method for an aircraft (10) that provides an IR decoy (12) for an incoming missile (18) to track instead of an engine (14) of the aircraft (10) is disclosed. The IR decoy (12) is deployed during or just after take off, and prior to landing to provide a signature (16) for any incoming missile (18). The IR decoy (12) provides a heat source (16) that has a higher radiant intensity than the hottest heat source on the aircraft (10), which is typically the engine (14), thereby providing a more attractive heat source for the missile (18). In another embodiment, a warning system (20) for an aircraft (10) detects an incoming missile (18), and deploys IR decoy (12) and creates an engine mask (22) by injecting an additive into the exhaust stream of the engine (14), thereby obscuring the radiation emanating from the engine (14).

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A method for producing a decoy infrared signature to direct an incoming infrared guided missile away from an aircraft infrared signature and to the decoy infrared signature, the method comprising:deploying a towed IR decoy during at least one aircraft flight time period

The invention claimed is: 1. A method for producing a decoy infrared signature to direct an incoming infrared guided missile away from an aircraft infrared signature and to the decoy infrared signature, the method comprising:deploying a towed IR decoy during at least one aircraft flight time period including aircraft take off and aircraft landing;powering the towed IR decoy by a laser source located within said aircraft;amplifying said laser source with an amplifier located within said aircraft to produce an IR decoy infrared signature;wherein the IR decoy infrared signature is of a magnitude greater than the infrared signature of said aircraft, and wherein said IR decoy infrared signature includes infrared energy in more than one spectral band;distributing the IR decoy infrared signature by means of a plurality of optical fibers of various lengths coupled to a plurality of small apertures within the IR decoy;detecting an incoming infrared guided missile with a warning system, and responsive to said detecting, further including the act of masking an infrared signature of at least one engine of the aircraft by causing a first amount of exhaust obscurant to be added into an exhaust stream of said at least one engine of the aircraft; andretracting the towed IR decoy after the aircraft reaches an altitude that is beyond a range of an infrared guided missile or proximate the time immediately preceding or after the aircraft has landed.