EW Academy · Contents · Chapter 11 · §11.14 · Nederlandse versie

§11.14 Scenario: a MANPADS threatens a helicopter

Open §11.14 in the academy

A worked scenario that brings the counter-IR material together:

  1. A gunner with an IR MANPADS (e.g. Igla, MANPADS (shoulder-launched air defence)) looks for a heat source: the helicopter's engine exhaust (Infrared).
  2. The Missile Warning System (MWS) detects the launch from the UV/IR plume.
  3. Flares are ejected automatically; a modern two-colour seeker (Verba) tries to ignore the flare (Flares, MANPADS (shoulder-launched air defence)).
  4. A DIRCM (Directional Infrared countermeasures) points a modulated IR beam at the seeker and disrupts its tracking logic.
  5. Tactics close the gap: manoeuvre and use of terrain deprive the seeker of its view (Counter-IR tactics).
Key lesson

Survival is layered: warning (MWS), deception (flares/DIRCM) and tactics — none of the three is enough on its own.