| AN/ALE-50 | |
|---|---|
| Radar jamming and deception towed decoy | |
 ALE-50 towed decoy system in the upper part of anF-16 Fighting Falcon wing pylon | |
| Status | In use |
| Manufacturing Info | |
| Manufacturer | Raytheon |
| Designer | Raytheon |
| Introduced | 1996; 29 years ago (1996) |
| No. Produced | >25,000[citation needed] |
| Usage | |
| Used byMilitary | |
| Used byAircraft | |
TheAN/ALE-50 towed decoy system is an electronic countermeasure system designed byRaytheon to protect multiple US military aircraft fromair-to-air andsurface-to-airradar-guided missiles.[1] The ALE-50 towed decoy system is ananti-missilecountermeasures decoy used onU.S. Air Force,Navy, andMarine Corps aircraft, and by certain non-United States air forces. The system is manufactured byRaytheon Space and Airborne Systems (nowRTX Corporation) at its facility inGoleta, California. The ALE-50 system consists of a launcher and launch controller installed on the aircraft (usually on a wing pylon), with one or more expendable toweddecoys. Each decoy is delivered in a sealed canister with a ten-yearshelf life.[2]
When deployed, the decoy is towed behind the host aircraft, protecting the aircraft and its crew againstRF-guidedmissiles luring the missile toward the decoy and away from the intended target. In bothflight tests andactual combat, the ALE-50 successfully countered numerouslive firings of both air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. U.S. military pilots nicknamed the decoy "Little Buddy".[3] The system requires no threat-specific software, and communicates its health and status to the aircraft over a standard data bus.[4]
In accordance with theJoint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), the "AN/ALE-50" designation represents the 50th design of an Army-Navy airborne electronic device forcountermeasures ejection/release equipment. The JETDS system also now is used to name allDepartment of Defense and someNATOelectronic systems.
The ALE-50 was first delivered in 1996,[3] and is used on theB-1B Lancer and as late as 2020, theF/A-18E/F Super Hornet.[5] The ALE-50 has also been integrated into the next-generationAN/ALQ-184(V)9ECM pod,[6] creating an integrated threat-protection system capable of being carried on a larger number of platforms.
The expendable decoys' estimated value is $22,000 each. A production run of 1,048 units were delivered through October 2010.[3]
In a September 2014US$9,414,000 (equivalent to $12,503,920 in 2024)firm-fixed-price delivery order, Raytheon's Electronic Warfare Systems in Goleta was contracted for an additional 226 units of ALE-50 Bravo T3F launchers for U.S. Navy F/A-18 E/F aircraft.[7]
As of 2008, the ALE-50 towed decoy was operational on the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and B-1B Lancer aircraft.[8][9]
| ActiveCountermeasures (Jamming) |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PassiveRadar Warning Receivers | |||||||||
| Missile Warning Systems | |||||||||
| Dedicated ECM /ESM aircraft |
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