MALD Mimics Characteristics Of Allied Aircraft

The US Air Force accepted delivery recently of Raytheon's first Miniature Air Launched Decoy low rate initial production unit.

"The warfighter now has an incredible new capability thanks to the hard work of hundreds of Raytheon employees, suppliers, dedicated Air Force civil servants, uniformed service members and support personnel," said Ken Watson, the US Air Force's MALD program manager. "MALD will work in concert with other electronic warfare assets as part of a system of systems to shape the electronic warfare battlespace and ensure our aviators and their coalition partners return home safely to their loved ones."

MALD protects aircrews and their aircraft by duplicating the combat flight profiles and signatures of US and allied aircraft. MALD is a state-of-the-art, low-cost flight vehicle that is modular, air-launched and programmable. It weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of approximately 500 nautical miles (about 575 statute miles).

"With this first delivery under our belts, Raytheon is on track to meet the US Air Force's required asset availability date of March 2010," said Harry Schulte, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Air Warfare Systems. "We're committed to on-time delivery, since the warfighter is counting on us to provide them with the flexibility and capability inherent in MALD."

More than 125 Raytheon employees design and build the MALD and MALD-J in Tucson, AZ; Goleta, CA; and El Segundo, CA.

FMI: www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/mald/, www.af.mil