{"82271":{"#nid":"82271","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Protecting Big Birds: Georgia Tech Engineers Test New Flare Decoys on Military Aircraft","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBecause these missiles vary in their schemes for rejecting decoys, researchers are trying to develop a one-size-fits-all flare pattern. They are running thousands of computer simulations to examine as many flare pattern combinations as possible. Then they test the best ones in the field.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis past summer, the researchers tested decoy flare patterns on military aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida as part of their project for the U.S. Air Mobility Command and the Air National Guard. Field tests are key to tailoring the flare pattern to individual aircrafts and determining the relative success rate between different patterns, researchers explain.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn these tests, researchers use real flares and real planes, but captive missiles in seeker test vans, which behave as though the missiles were in flight. If the missile seeker transfers its track from the aircraft to the decoy, then the flare pattern is considered a success. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt Eglin, GTRI researchers evaluated flares on four large transport aircraft: the C-5, C-17, C-130 and MH53. This followed a field test in May 2003 in Yuma, Ariz., which evaluated new flares for the A-10, F-15 and F-16 fighter planes.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough GTRI has been developing countermeasures for many years, the war on terrorism has accelerated efforts.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027re working at a heavy, steady pace - building on the progress we make from each test,\u0022 says project director Charles Carstensen, a senior research scientist in GTRI\u0027s Electro-Optics, Environment and Materials Laboratory. \u0022Flares are part of our country\u0027s overall requirement to be prepared to fight. If we\u0027re ready to fight, then there\u0027s less likelihood we\u0027ll need to.\u0022 \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMade of magnesium, decoy flares confuse a missile\u0027s tracking system by burning white-hot when dispensed. They can defend military aircraft against man-portable air defense missile systems (MANPADS), which use infrared sensors to detect jet engine exhaust.\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"With the increasing threat of enemy attack on military aircraft by heat-seeking missiles, engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are testing new defensive countermeasures called decoy flares, which confuse the weapons\u0027 tracking systems.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2004-01-24 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:41","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2004-01-23T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2004-01-23T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/gtresearchnews.gatech.edu\/newsrelease\/flares.htm","title":"MANPADS Problem"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=\u0022\u003EContact  \u003C\/a\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}