Raytheon Mini-Drone Successfully Tested

If a decoy works for duck hunters, you can imagine what the Air Force can do with its shotgun. The Air Force is always looking for ways to maintain air superiority and it really likes to kill SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) that could harm crews and aircraft.

So on Tuesday, Raytheon and the Air Force announced they have successfully deployed a mini-decoy from an F-16 designed to provoke  enemy defenses to go after it. The ADM-160B is called MALD (Miniature Air Launched Decoy) and is a small jet-powered swing-wing aircraft. It is currently configured to be launched from an F-16 or B-52.

The tests were conducted at Eglin AFB, FL and included nine flights this summer. All were successful.

Once the enemy SAM is fired at the MALD, the good guys now know where they are and the Air Force can use its special skills to eliminate the SAM site.

The ten foot long decoy can fly a variety of flight profiles to simulate the characterstics of other Air Force aircraft, and is scheduled to go into full production in two years.

FMI: www.raytheon.com, www.af.mil