Disrupting adversarial radar to defeat RF missile attacks
Today’s radio frequency (RF) missile threats continue to grow, not only in numbers, but also in sophistication and capabilities. BAE Systems’ AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy (FOTD) is a highly advanced RF self-protection jammer that is proven to be highly-effective against RF missile threats to protect any fixed-wing aircraft, from jet fighters to bombers to transports and more.
How does our Fiber-Optic Towed Decoy work? Unlike most electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems, our AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy jams signals with a high-powered response from off-board the aircraft at the end of the towline. Missiles are guided safely away from the aircraft to the towed decoy. And unlike traditional straight-through repeaters which are only effective versus continuous wave (CW) threats, our fiber-optic towed decoy works in concert with the aircraft’s onboard electronic warfare (EW) system to use a variety of countermeasure techniques to suppress, deflect, and seduce pulsed and CW RF threats. That means it protects the aircraft throughout the threat envelope, delivering three layers of defense.
Designed for optimum power and high reliability
In the battlespace, pilots and crew need to know with certainty that they can depend on their countermeasures system. The AN/ALE-55 FOTD produces highly-reliable jamming, demonstrating stable flight under a wide altitude and speed envelope.
Thousands of our AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy systems have been delivered. Fully integrated with the onboard self-protection system of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the AN/ALE-55 is available to every branch of the U.S. military and to Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs for integration on additional fixed-wing aircraft.
Next-generation solutions to future RF attacks
As a global leader in the electronic countermeasures, BAE Systems is under contract to the U.S. Navy to develop our next-generation Dual Band Decoy (DBD), which expands on our proven ability to help pilots carry out their missions, especially in highly-contested airspace.
Learn more. Download our AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy data sheet or contact our Electronic Systems business representative today.
Electronic Warfare
BAE Systems’ EW systems deliver superior situational awareness, even in the most complex battlespaces, with 5th generation electronic support, electronic protection, and electronic attack capabilities.
