Pyrophoric Device Demonstration

The Department of War (DoW) Joint Services (US Navy, US Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC)) require an expendable pyrophoric countermeasure to use independently or in conjunction with both onboard and offboard countermeasures. The DoW has a need to develop a new source for this crucial countermeasure capability.

One of the primary missions of the Platform Protection & Countermeasures Technologies Division (WXR) is to develop countermeasures to protect U.S. aircraft from threat missile systems. Expendable Countermeasures have been utilized to protect U.S. aircraft against surface-to-air and air-to-air threats since as early as the 1960s. Once the presence of a missile is indicated, a pilot releases an expendable countermeasure in an attempt to decoy the missile.

The countermeasure and countermeasure techniques are designed to confuse the missile seeker and its counter-countermeasure logic, ultimately causing it to decoy away from aircraft. Expendable countermeasures are part of a multi-layer approach to protect aircraft from enemy threat missiles.

In their simplest form, the concept of expendable countermeasures is to provide a decoy that is “more attractive” than the aircraft being protected, thereby pulling the threat missile’s targeting system away from the aircraft and towards the decoy. In total, any mechanism by which the expendable interferes with the missile’s targeting system sufficiently to make it miss the aircraft is a success. This effort is in response to finding a new supplier of pyrophoric countermeasures.

Pyrophoric countermeasures (M211, MJU-49/B, MJU-64/B, MJU-66/B, XM219, MJU-50A/B, MJU-51A/B, & MJU-52A/B) remain an active part of IR threat protection systems offering the best solution for the Joint Services to counter legacy and advanced IR missile threats.