Experts at Eglin AFB are helping develop a miniature air-launched decoy that Air Force officials hope will entice enemy forces to prematurely disclose their air defense locations, keeping friendly pilots further out of harms way. Precision strike system program office experts awarded an $88 million, five-year systems development and demonstration contract to Raytheon Corporation to develop the decoy.

The decoy is intended to saturate enemy air-defense systems by appearing on radar screens as a full-size bomber or fighter, according to Anna Harbaugh, program manager.

She said the finished decoy will be a small, cruise missile-like vehicle about 115 inches long, eight inches around, with a 60-inch wingspan. It will weigh only 200 pounds and will be launched from both fighters and bombers.

The decoy, powered by a turbojet engine, will reach speeds of Mach .93 - about 650 mph -- and altitudes approaching 40,000 feet, Harbaugh said. Air Combat Command officials, who requested the development, require it to fly for 45 minutes at 35,000 feet or for 20 minutes at 3,000 feet.

The decoys can be used in many ways, according to Mel Duval, chief engineer. He said one scenario calls for fighters to follow the decoys into enemy territory.

"When the enemy turns on their surface-to-air defense radars (in response to the decoys), the real fighters or bombers arrive and launch homing anti-radiation missiles that will follow the emissions to the source and obliterate them," he said. In another scenario, Duval said the decoy could be fired in swarms, completely overwhelming an enemy’s integrated air-defense system.

"If a (decoy) gets shot down, then it has done its job," Duval said. "That means the enemy has expended an expensive and deadly missile against our inexpensive little decoy. We want the (decoys) to go where we don't want one of our pilots to be."

The decoy is scheduled to begin captive flight-testing in 2005 and free flight-testing in 2006. Initial production should begin in 2007. The contract requires that 1,500 units be delivered by 2011, Harbaugh said. The unit cost of the decoy is limited to $125,000.

"It's our goal to come in much lower than that," Harbaugh said. "I think we can do it." [ANN Thanks Lois Walsh, Air Armament Center Public Affairs]

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