USAF
Warzone/The Drive: Here Is How Much Those Decoy Flares Cost That Military Aircraft Fire Off All The Time
In combat, they are essential to the survivability of the aircraft that carry them, but they don't come as cheap as one may think.
Flares can make any aircraft, no matter how big and lumbering, look dynamic and even beautiful. In reality, they are an essential countermeasure used to confuse enemy heat-seeking missiles. So, how much do these fiery things being pumped out the back of military aircraft actually cost?
Countermeasure flares burn at thousands of degrees and there is a wide variety of types, the vast majority of which ignite when their volatile compound mix is exposed to the air itself. These are can be referred to as pyrophoric flares. Beyond their use in actual combat, even in training, helicopters and ground attack aircraft will practice firing flares off when entering into high-risk areas of their flight envelope and mission where shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles could be present. Fighters will also pop flares during training dogfights when the adversary is within the firing envelope of their short-range missiles. Sometimes fighters will even thank a tanker boom operator by popping flares. These pyrotechnics also often evoke oohs and ahhs from air show crowds as they ripple off military aircraft performing flying displays.
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