TUCSON, Ariz., March 17, 2009 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Air Force accepted delivery of Raytheon Company's first Miniature Air Launched Decoy low rate initial production unit.
"The warfighter now has an incredible new capability thanks to the hard work of hundreds of Raytheon employees, suppliers, dedicated Air Force civil servants, uniformed service members and support personnel," said Ken Watson, the U.S. Air Force's MALD program manager. "MALD will work in concert with other electronic warfare assets as part of a system of systems to shape the electronic warfare battlespace and ensure our aviators and their coalition partners return home safely to their loved ones."
MALD protects aircrews and their aircraft by duplicating the combat flight profiles and signatures of U.S. and allied aircraft. In addition to protecting valuable aircraft, MALD offers counter air operations to neutralize air defense systems that pose a threat to U.S. and allied pilots.
MALD is a state-of-the-art, low-cost flight vehicle that is modular, air-launched and programmable. It weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of approximately 500 nautical miles (about 926 kilometers).
"With this first delivery under our belts, Raytheon is on track to meet the U.S. Air Force's required asset availability date of March 2010," said Harry Schulte, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Air Warfare Systems. "We're committed to on-time delivery, since the warfighter is counting on us to provide them with the flexibility and capability inherent in MALD."
The USAF wants the vehicle to launch against pre-planned targets, jamming the radars of an integrated air defense system before friendly aircraft are detected. The same vehicle, which is intended to be unrecoverable, also must function as a decoy.
"The warfighter now has an incredible new capability thanks to the hard work of hundreds of Raytheon employees, suppliers, dedicated Air Force civil servants, uniformed service members and support personnel," said Ken Watson, the U.S. Air Force's MALD program manager. "MALD will work in concert with other electronic warfare assets as part of a system of systems to shape the electronic warfare battlespace and ensure our aviators and their coalition partners return home safely to their loved ones."
MALD protects aircrews and their aircraft by duplicating the combat flight profiles and signatures of U.S. and allied aircraft. In addition to protecting valuable aircraft, MALD offers counter air operations to neutralize air defense systems that pose a threat to U.S. and allied pilots.
MALD is a state-of-the-art, low-cost flight vehicle that is modular, air-launched and programmable. It weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of approximately 500 nautical miles (about 926 kilometers).
"With this first delivery under our belts, Raytheon is on track to meet the U.S. Air Force's required asset availability date of March 2010," said Harry Schulte, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Air Warfare Systems. "We're committed to on-time delivery, since the warfighter is counting on us to provide them with the flexibility and capability inherent in MALD."
The USAF wants the vehicle to launch against pre-planned targets, jamming the radars of an integrated air defense system before friendly aircraft are detected. The same vehicle, which is intended to be unrecoverable, also must function as a decoy.
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