Ukraine's stealth tactic: How ghost decoys mislead Russian defenses
The Russians boasted about shooting down a Ukrainian cruise missile. However, it was not dangerous and achieved its objective. Let's explore the purpose of the ADM-160B MALD missiles procured from the USA.
Cruise missiles delivered from the USA, ADM-160B MALD launched, among others, from MiG-29 aircraft, play a crucial role in facilitating attacks on heavily defended targets deep within enemy lines using, for example, Storm Shadow cruise missiles or MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missiles.
The Russian claims about shooting down MALDs indicate that the decoys performed their role successfully and perhaps contributed to the successful targeting of the attacked object. The ADM-160B MALD missiles are advanced decoys designed to distract air defense systems from real targets.
ADM-160B MALD — capable of creating "ghost planes"
The ADM-160B MALD (Miniature Air-Launched Decoy) was developed by Raytheon in the first decade of the 21st century, resulting from a project initiated by DARPA back in 1995. The original version, the ADM-160A MALD, developed by Teledyne Ryan, was completed slightly later, but the program was canceled in 2002 due to insufficient range.
The project was soon resumed by the RTX corporation (formerly Raytheon), leading to the creation of the upgraded ADM-160B MALD missile, which entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 2009. The ADM-160B, instead of a traditional warhead, is equipped with electronics that simulate radar and signal signatures characteristic of specific aircraft models.
It can also mimic flight trajectories, making the decoy appear as a real target to personnel operating air defense systems. Consequently, air defenses can be misled to focus on a different area than where the actual threat may emerge.
ADM-160B MALD — deceives air defense systems and exposes them to attack
Most radars in air defense systems have limited detection fields, and older systems with semi-active radar seekers require continuous illumination of the target by radar until its destruction. As a result, their ability to respond to targets appearing from different directions is restricted.
Additionally, ADM-160B MALDs are employed as decoys to activate air defense systems (illuminating radars), thereby making them susceptible to attacks by aircraft equipped with AGM-88 HARM missiles. In newer versions, such as the ADM-160C MALD-J introduced in 2012, features are included to disrupt enemy radar operations and alter flight parameters through a communication link providing continuous updates with the carrier aircraft.
All these capabilities are contained in a missile weighing 254 lbs, with a length of 9 ft and a wingspan of 6 ft. The ADM-160B MALD can fly for 45 minutes and has a range of up to 572 miles thanks to the use of a Pratt & Whitney TJ-150 turbojet engine with a thrust of 151 lbs. It is a key component in the arsenal of the Ukrainian air force, even though its function is not kinetic.
