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US 5,497,156 AGranted
Towed target
AssigneeLockheed Corporation
InventorBoyd B. Bushman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A towed target or decoy serves to avoid heat-seeking and radar missile attacks on a jet aircraft. The decoy has a body with a nose and a sidewall. A ring surrounds the body and the spaced from it. The interior of the ring and the exterior of the body have reflective surfaces. The reflective surfaces reflect heat energy from the exhaust in various directions. This creates a greater heat signal than from the aircraft itself, attracting heat-seeking missiles. The decoys nest within one another and are deployed from an ejection housing mounted to the aircraft.
Claims33
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume which emits infrared radiation, comprising:
- a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has an infrared radiation reflective portion;
- means for towing the body on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the infrared radiation reflective portion to receive and reflect infrared radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft;
- and wherein the decoy comprises:
- a nose section on a forward end of the body;
- and
- a sidewall section extending rearward from the nose section,
- wherein the infrared radiation reflective portion is located both on the nose section and the sidewall section.
4 more elements
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume which emits infrared radiation, comprising:
- a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has an infrared radiation reflective portion;
- means for towing the body on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the infrared radiation reflective portion to receive and reflect infrared radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft;
- and wherein the decoy comprises:
- a conical nose section on a forward end of the body, forming an apex;
- and
- a sidewall section extending rearward and conically tapering in a diverging taper from the nose section, wherein
- the infrared radiation reflective portion is located both on the nose section and the sidewall section.
4 more elements
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume which emits infrared radiation, comprising:
- a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has an infrared radiation reflective portion;
- means for towing the body on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the infrared radiation reflective portion to receive and reflect infrared radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft;
- and wherein:
- a conical nose section is formed on a forward end of the body, forming an apex;
- a sidewall section extends rearward from the nose section;
- the infrared radiation reflective portion is located both on the nose section and the sidewall section;
- and wherein the decoy further comprises
- an annular member surrounding and spaced outward from the body, the annular member having an internal reflective surface means for receiving infrared radiation reflected by the sidewall section and for reflecting said infrared radiation in a rearward direction for attracting heat-seeking missiles approaching the aircraft from the rear.
5 more elements
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume which emits infrared radiation, comprising:
- a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has an infrared radiation reflective portion;
- means for towing the body on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the infrared radiation reflective portion to receive and reflect infrared radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft;
- and wherein the decoy further comprises:
- an annular member surrounding and spaced outward from the body, the annular member having an internal infrared radiation reflective surface means for receiving infrared radiation reflected by the body and for reflecting said infrared radiation received from the body in a rearward direction for attracting heat-seeking missiles approaching the aircraft from the rear.
1 more element
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume which emits infrared radiation, comprising:
- a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has an infrared radiation reflective portion;
- means for towing the body on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the infrared radiation reflective portion to receive and reflect infrared radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft;
- and wherein the decoy comprises:
- a nose section on a forward end of the body;
- and
- a sidewall section extending rearward from the nose section,
- wherein the infrared radiation reflective portion is located both on the nose section and the sidewall section, and wherein the decoy further comprises
- an annular member surrounding, secured to and spaced from the sidewall section of the body, the annular member having an internal infrared radiation reflective surface, the internal radiation reflective surface of the annular member being conical and tapering to a smaller diameter in a rearward direction in a converging taper for reflecting infrared radiation from the sidewall section of the body in a rearward direction for attracting heat-seeking missiles approaching the aircraft from the rear.
5 more elements
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume, comprising:
- a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has a reflective portion, the body adapted to be towed on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the reflective portion to reflect radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft, wherein the decoy comprises
- a nose section on a forward end of the body, forming an apex;
- and
- a sidewall section extending rearward and tapering from the nose section in a diverging taper, wherein
- the reflective portion is located both on the nose section and the sidewall section, and wherein the decoy further comprises
- an annular member surrounding, secured to and spaced from the sidewall section of the body, the annular member having an internal reflective surface, the internal reflective surface of the annular member being conical and tapering to a smaller diameter in a rearward direction in a converging taper for reflecting radiation from the sidewall section of the body in a rearward direction for attracting heat-seeking missiles approaching the aircraft from the rear.
3 more elements
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume, comprising:
- a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has a reflective portion, the body adapted to be towed on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the reflective portion to reflect radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft, wherein
- a nose section is formed on a forward end of the body, forming an apex;
- a sidewall section extends rearward and tapers in a diverging taper from the nose section;
- the line is adapted to attach to nose section;
- the reflective portion is located both on the nose section and the sidewall section;
- and
- an annular member surrounds and is spaced outward from the sidewall section of the body by a plurality of braces, the annular member having an internal reflective surface, the internal reflective surface of the annular member tapering in a converging taper in a rearward direction, for reflecting radiation from the sidewall section of the body in a rearward direction for attracting heat-seeking missiles approaching the aircraft from the rear.
4 more elements
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume, comprising:
- a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has a reflective portion, the body adapted to be towed on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the reflective portion to reflect radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft, wherein the apparatus further comprises
- an ejection housing adapted to be mounted to the aircraft;
- retention means in the ejection housing for retaining the decoy within the ejection housing prior to deployment by the aircraft;
- and
- a reel adapted to be mounted to the aircraft, wherein
- the line is adapted to extend from the decoy and around the reel, the reel unwinding when the retention means releases the decoy and wherein the apparatus further comprises
- sensing means for sensing if the decoy is detached from the line due to being struck by a missile, and if so, for releasing the line from the reel.
4 more elements
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume, comprising:
- at least one decoy connected to at least one line for towing behind the jet aircraft, the decoy comprising
- a body having a nose section on a forward end, forming an apex, and a sidewall section extending rearward in a diverging taper from the nose section, the nose section and sidewall section having exterior surfaces which are reflective to reflect radiation emitted by the exhaust plume away from the aircraft so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft;
- and
- an annular member surrounding, secured to and spaced from the sidewall section of the body, the annular member having an internal reflective surface, the internal reflective surface of the annular member tapering rearward in a converging taper for reflecting radiation from the sidewall section of the body in a rearward direction for attracting heat-seeking missiles approaching the aircraft from the rear.
1 more element
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume, comprising:
- a plurality of decoys;
- retention means adapted to be carried on the aircraft for retaining a plurality of the decoys on the aircraft and for ejecting one of the decoys from the aircraft at a time;
- a plurality of lines, each of the lines extending from one of the decoys to the aircraft when the retention means releases one of the decoys to tow the decoy behind the aircraft;
- each of the decoys having a body with a reflective exterior surface for reflecting radiation emitted by the exhaust plume to attract heat-seeking missiles to the decoy rather than to the aircraft;
- and
- sensing means for sensing if the decoy being towed is detached from the line due to being struck by a missile, and if so, for causing the retention means to eject another of the decoys.
3 more elements
An apparatus for avoiding heat-seeking missile attacks on a jet aircraft which produces an exhaust plume, comprising:
- a plurality of decoys,
- each of the decoys having a body with a nose and sidewall which has a diverging taper in a rearward direction, the nose and sidewall each having a reflective exterior surface and
- each of the decoys having an annular member supported to, spaced from and extending around the body, the annular member having an interior surface which has a converging taper in a rearward direction and which has a reflective surface;
- an ejection housing adapted to be mounted to the aircraft;
- retention means for retaining a plurality of the decoys nested within one another in the ejection housing and for ejecting one of the decoys from the ejection housing at a time;
- a plurality of lines, each of the lines extending from one of the decoys to the aircraft when the retention means releases one of the decoys to tow the decoy behind the aircraft, the reflective surfaces reflecting radiation emitted by the exhaust plume to attract heat-seeking missiles to the decoy rather than to the aircraft;
- and
- sensing means for sensing if the decoy being towed is detached from the line due to being struck by a missile, and if so, for causing the retention means to eject another of the decoys.
5 more elements
A method for avoiding a heat-seeking missile strike in an aircraft which has a jet engine that produces an exhaust plume, comprising:
- providing a decoy having a body with an exterior surface which has a reflective portion;
- and
- towing the decoy on a line behind the aircraft in a position for causing the reflective portion to reflect radiation emitted by the exhaust plume so as to attract heat-seeking missiles fired at the aircraft, the method further comprising:
- sensing whether the decoy is hit by a missile, and if so, releasing the line and deploying another decoy on another line.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.