| IR countermeasures work by using a modulated source of infrared radiation that has a higher intensity than the infrared radiation coming from the target. That confuses the incoming missile's tracking systems. Early versions of countermeasure systems, such as direct IRCM (DIRCM), use conventional laser sources and have been widely deployed, but they tend to be too heavy for use in the majority of helicopters and so more advanced, lighter, versions with mid-infrared laser wavelengths are in development. Credit: USAF. |
