Against IR threats — besides flares and DIRCM — tactics are a fully fledged countermeasure: the limitations of IR sensors (Disadvantages of infrared) can be actively exploited through flying behaviour and choice of environment. The main principles:
- Turning the signature away: the hottest source (exhaust/plume) is at the back. A break manoeuvre that turns the tail away from the seeker drastically reduces the contrast on offer — classically combined with a flare programme: at the same moment the seeker gets less aircraft and more flare. Reducing power (afterburner off!) at the right moment is part of it.
- Using the sun and backgrounds: flying in between the seeker and the sun puts a blinding source in its field of view (older seekers failed here in large numbers); warm or cluttered backgrounds (sunlit cloud edges, terrain) reduce the contrast. Conversely: clear, cold sky is the seeker's playground — avoid predictable, high-contrast profiles.
- Weather and windows: clouds, haze and moisture strongly attenuate IR (Division of the infrared spectrum, Disadvantages of infrared) — a cloud layer between you and the threat is free protection; climbing out from under it at the wrong moment is not.
- Altitude and envelope: MANPADS have a limited range and ceiling; staying outside (above) their envelope is the simplest counter-IR tactic there is. Hence steep spiral approaches above protected areas instead of long, flat final approaches, and low-level transit only where it is unavoidable.
- Aspect and timing: all-aspect seekers (Advanced flares) can fire from the front, but their lock-on range is greatest from behind. Plan routes and turns so that you never present a "tail aspect at short range" for long to suspected launch areas.
- Unpredictability: the gunner has to lead and the seeker has to track — continuous, unplanned changes of flight path at the moments of greatest vulnerability (take-off, landing, pop-up) reduce both chances.
Counter-IR is thus the textbook example of a broader lesson: ECM is not just equipment. The cheapest and often most effective countermeasure is knowing how the opponent's sensor works — and simply never giving it what it needs. Equipment (MAWS, flares, DIRCM) buys the seconds; tactics determine whether you needed them.