ALE-47
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The AN/ALE-47 Airborne Countermeasures Dispenser System is used to protect military aircraft from incoming
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
and
infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...
homing
missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...
s. It works by dispensing
flares A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...
or
chaff Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...
. It is used on a variety of
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
,
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
, and
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
aircraft, as well as in other militaries. In accordance with the
Joint Electronics Type Designation System The Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System (AN System. JAN) and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Depa ...
(JETDS), the "''AN/ALE-47''" designation represents the 47th design of an Army-Navy airborne electronic device for
countermeasures A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
ejection equipment. The JETDS system also now is used to name all
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
electronic systems.


Overview

The AN/ALE-47 countermeasure dispenser system was developed by
Tracor Tracor, Inc. was a major North American defense electronics contractor which was acquired by Marconi Electronic Systems (MES), a subsidiary of General Electric Company plc, in 1998. Following the purchase of MES by British Aerospace in November ...
, now part of
BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...
, as an improved version of the older ALE-40 system, with more autonomy and software. The AN/ALE-47 countermeasure dispenser system is also manufactured by Symetrics Industries, out of Melbourne, Florida. The AN/ALE-47 system can be integrated on a wide range of aircraft, including
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
s, cargo aircraft and fighters. It reached
initial operating capability Initial operating capability or initial operational capability (IOC) is the state achieved when a capability is available in its minimum usefully deployable form. The term is often used in government or military procurement. The United States D ...
(IOC) in the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
in 1998. It has been integrated on 38 different types of aircraft, including the
F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...
,
F/A-18 The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...
,
C-17 The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...
,
CH-47 The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...
and
UH-60 The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift military utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted a design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System (UTTAS) ...
. As of 2008, over 3000 sets have been delivered and the system is used by 30 different nations.


Function

The ALE-47 is integrated with the aircraft's
radar warning receiver Radar warning receiver (RWR) systems detect the radio emissions of radar systems. Their primary purpose is to issue a warning when a radar signal that might be a threat is detected, like a fighter aircraft's fire control radar. The warning can ...
s, missile warning receivers and other electronic warfare sensors. When the aircraft's sensors detect a threat, the countermeasure dispenser system automatically launches radiofrequency and infrared countermeasures at the optimum time to defeat incoming missiles. The ALE is compatible with a wide variety of countermeasures such as different types of
flares A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...
and
chaff Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...
. It is also designed to work with advanced future countermeasures.


Components

The ALE-47 consists of a cockpit control unit, sequencer units, countermeasure dispensers and an optional programmer. The cockpit control unit provides an interface with the pilot. A programmer can be added to add extra features, such as advanced threat evaluation. It can also be used to fully integrate the system with an aircraft's
glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features an array of electronic (digital) flight instrument display device, displays, typically large liquid-crystal display, LCD screens, rather than traditional Analog device, analog dials and gauges ...
eliminating the need for the cockpit control unit. The sequencer units control the dispensers, and are automatically capable of detecting misfires and correcting them. The sequencers are built into the dispenser units on the
rotary-wing A rotary-wing aircraft, rotorwing aircraft or rotorcraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotor wing, rotary wings that spin around a vertical mast to generate lift (force), lift. Part 1 (Definitions and Abbreviations) of Subchapter A of Chapt ...
version. Each dispenser can hold five different types of countermeasures for a total of 30. The whole system can accommodate up to 32 dispensers on
fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generate ...
and 16 on rotary-wing aircraft.


See also

*
Flare (countermeasure) A flare or decoy flare is an aerial infrared countermeasure used by an aircraft to counter an infrared homing ("heat-seeking") surface-to-air missile or air-to-air missile. Flares are commonly composed of a pyrotechnic composition based on mag ...
*
Chaff (countermeasure) Chaff, originally called Window or Düppel, is a radar countermeasure involving the dispersal of thin strips of aluminium, metallized glass fiber, or plastic. Dispersed chaff produces a large radar cross section intended to blind or disrupt ...
* Electronic warfare *
Infrared countermeasures An infrared countermeasure (IRCM) is a device designed to protect aircraft from infrared homing ("heat seeking") missiles by confusing the missiles' infrared guidance system so that they miss their target (electronic countermeasure). Heat-see ...
*
AN/ALQ-144 The AN/ALQ-144, AN/ALQ-147, and AN/ALQ-157 are US infrared guided missile countermeasure devices (IRCM). They were developed by Sanders Associates in the 1970s to counter the threat of infrared guided surface-to-air missiles like the 9K32 Strela- ...
*
List of military electronics of the United States This article lists American military electronic instruments/systems along with brief descriptions. This list specifically identifies electronic devices which are assigned designations according to the Joint Electronics Type Designation System ...


References


External links


Symetrics Industries ALE-47 product page

Symetrics Industries ALE-47 product brochure

BAE Systems ALE-47 product page
{{Electronic warfare navbox Electronic warfare equipment Military electronics of the United States Raytheon Company products Equipment of the United States Air Force Electronic countermeasures Military equipment introduced in the 1990s