Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: rti.uucp!duncan@rti.rti.org (Stephen Duncan)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: "Identify-Friend-or-Foe" questions
Message-ID: <13040@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 11 Jan 90 04:59:53 GMT
References: <12566@cbnews.ATT.COM> <12883@cbnews.ATT.COM> <12972@cbnews.ATT.COM>
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From: rti.uucp!duncan@rti.rti.org (Stephen Duncan)

In article <12972@cbnews.ATT.COM> denbeste@spdcc.com (Steven Den Beste) writes:
>
>From: denbeste@spdcc.com (Steven Den Beste)
>
> [ . . . ]
>
>   So my point is this: As long as one of our jets has IFF onboard and
>operating, there should be a relatively unsubtle way that a SAM can home in
>on that IFF system so as to destroy said jet. The jet's IFF will correctly
>identify the SAM as a foe, but this is irrelevant. (Except that it means the
>pilot can try somehow to evade the thing.)
>
>   I'm hoping that there is some other approach besides the ones I've
>dreamed up which overcome this problem. Would anyone care to take a crack
>at explaining it to me?

How heavy and expensive is an IFF?  If neither is very great, then just
attach some to flares and eject them.  This should confuse any missile.
If there are codes one doesn't want recovered in the IFF, then attaching
a bomblet to it should suffice, in case the missile malfunctions.
This would work particulary well if the plane turned off its IFF
momentarily.  The missle would never know the difference.  Add a radar
reflector, and the flare/IFF could fool radar and IR that the missle might
use as secondary sensors.

Steve Duncan
duncan@rti.rti.org