The Navy and Raytheon [RTN] have begun integration of an air-launched decoy with a jamming capability onto the service’s fleet of F/A-18s Super Hornets, the company recently said.
The jammer feature is a variant added to the Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD). MALD, which resembles and flies like a missile, is used to mimic the flight profile and radar signature of U.S. and allied aircraft to confuse enemy defenses.
The MALD-J with the jamming component further enhance electronic warfare capabilities, Raytheon said. Installing the MALD-J on F/A-18 Es and Fs allows for testing to ensure the system meets the rigors of taking off and landing on aircraft carriers, Raytheon said. Boeing [BA] is the prime contractor for the Super Hornet.
“MALD will save sailors lives because it saturates enemy integrated air defense systems, causing them to attack the wrong target instead of attacking our aircraft,” Harry Schulte, vice president of air warfare for Raytheon’s missile systems unit, said.
MALD weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of about 575 miles, according to Raytheon.