Low Visibility Decoy Flare

Low visibility flares offer significant advantages for nighttime protection of rotary wing vehicles. Aerodyne Research Inc (ARI) and its teaming partner ATK propose flares having nearly same intensity in IR bands of interest while having greatly reduced visibility. The Phase I program will build on previous work performed by ARI on low visibility flares to identify candidate flare compositions having good performance. Visible and infrared radiation models will evaluate candidate decoy formulations. The best compositions will be prepared at ATK facilities and tested. Spectral measurements will quantify emission in the radiometric bands of interest. A business plan for commercialization of the technology will be developed. BENEFITS: The new technology decoy formulation will provide greatly improved protection of SOF rotary wing aircraft in nighttime conditions. It is expected to be readily adaptable to DoD applications such as "low and slow" cargo aircraft, and it could well serve as a "search and rescue" tool for downed pilots to covertly signal their location for pickup or as an "IFF tool" for ground vehicles in hostile territory. As a dual-use technology it offers significant potential for the protection of civilian aircraft in nighttime conditions.