Deceptive decoy

Deceptive decoys, in electronic warfare, interfere with the tracking or final guidance of an enemy threat. They can be simple expendables, such as chaff or flares, or a more intelligent towed decoy such as the AN/ALE-55.

The AN/ALE-55 has an onboard radar transmitter, with a fiber optic cable running back to its aircraft's controller, the AN/ALE-47. The controller, in turn, can send directions to the decoy transmitters from all the onboard and remote sensors available to the aircraft. Earlier towed decoys, such as the AN/ALE-50, had to depend on their own onboard and limited radar processing.

Submarines may release acoustic decoys that are either simple deceptive noisemakers, or complex intelligent and independently moving decoys. Surface ships, under torpedo attack, can fire acoustic decoys from their deck-mounted expendables launchers.