Lockheed Martin Sanders says that it will deliver mass models of a fibre-optic towed decoy (FOTD) by mid-1997, following a successful critical design-review of the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) programme. The IDECM radio-frequency countermeasures system consists of the expendable FOTD linked by fibre-optic cable to an onboard techniques generator. The system is intended to defeat active-radar-guided air-to-air missiles targeted on the carrier aircraft. The system will be installed on US Navy McDonnell Douglas (MDC) F-18E/Fs, and is earmarked to upgrade US Air Force Rockwell B-1Bs and MDC F-15C/Es. Aerodynamic flight tests on the Lockheed U-2 are set for early 1998.
Source: Flight International