Investigation of fixed-position pyrotechnical decoys in realistic air flow with authentic ignition

Improvements to modern infrared seeker heads mean that new pyrotechnical decoys must be developed to ensure that this important countermeasure remains effective. In order to reduce development and testing times a suitable test facility is needed to provide realistic data in an early stage of the development. In these tests it is important to consider the influence of the surrounding air flow and to apply the original and complete ignition chain to obtain results that are close to operational decoy firings. In particular, authentic ignition is needed to ensure that the decisive rise-time of radiation intensity in firings on the test facility is comparable to real application. This paper presents the current state of the ICT test facility for spectroscopic investigations of burning pyrotechnical decoys in realistic air flow with authentic ignition.