{"id":345147,"date":"2025-08-26T17:25:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T11:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=345147"},"modified":"2025-08-26T17:27:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T11:57:54","slug":"x-guard-fibre-optic-towed-decoy-fotd-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/x-guard-fibre-optic-towed-decoy-fotd-system\/","title":{"rendered":"X-Guard Fibre-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) System"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News:<\/strong> During Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is believed to have successfully deployed the AI-enabled X-Guard Fibre-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) system, developed by Israel\u2019s Rafael.<\/p>\n<h2>About X-Guard Fibre-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) System<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_345153\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-345153\" style=\"width: 415px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-345153\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Source-Rafael.jpg?resize=415%2C227&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"415\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Source-Rafael.jpg?resize=300%2C164&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Source-Rafael.jpg?resize=768%2C421&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Source-Rafael.jpg?w=998&amp;ssl=1 998w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-345153\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; Rafael<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>It is a <strong>state-of-the-art electronic warfare solution<\/strong> to provide fighter <strong>aircraft with protection against advanced radar-guided missile threats<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">\n<h2>Decoys<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>They are specially designed systems or devices <strong>used to mislead, distract, or confuse enemy surveillance, sensors, weapon systems, or decision-makers<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Goal:<\/strong> Their primary goal is to <strong>protect real military assets<\/strong> (such as tanks, aircraft, ships, or command centers) by <strong>presenting convincing false targets or signals<\/strong> that divert attention or fire away from genuine assets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Developed by:<\/strong> <strong>Israel\u2019s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems<\/strong> as part of their electronic warfare (EW) suite.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Features<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It is <strong>lightweight (30 kg), retractable, and reusable<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It can be <strong>deployed<\/strong>, either when the <strong>aircraft approaches a threatened area<\/strong> or upon <strong>detection of an imminent threat<\/strong>, to <strong>counter radar-guided air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles<\/strong> during operational missions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Working:<\/strong> It <strong>mimics<\/strong> the <strong>fighter<\/strong> <strong>aircraft\u2019s <\/strong>(most optimally in Rafale)<strong> Radar Cross-Section (RCS),<\/strong> <strong>doppler velocity<\/strong>, and <strong>spectral signature<\/strong> across multiple radar bands.<\/li>\n<li>It can also <strong>replicate<\/strong> the fighter <strong>aircraft\u2019s onboard electronic countermeasures<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It creates a <strong>convincing illusion<\/strong> for both human operators and tracking systems.<\/li>\n<li>Its <strong>360-degree jamming signal capability<\/strong> integrates seamlessly with the <strong>Rafale\u2019s SPECTRA (Self-Protection Equipment Countering Threats to Rafale Aircraft) EW suite. <\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>While <strong>SPECTRA<\/strong> manages <strong>threat detection<\/strong>, <strong>blocking, and onboard defensive measures<\/strong>, the <strong>X-Guard adds a trailing expendable layer<\/strong>, jointly forming a <strong>multi-tiered defensive shield<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Benefits<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Increases aircraft survivability and mission success probability<\/li>\n<li>Provides full sphere defense coverage<\/li>\n<li>Fast deployment, low drag and lightweight; minimal limitation on aircraft maneuverability<\/li>\n<li>Reusable; reeled-in after mission completion<\/li>\n<li>Cost-effective; low Life Cycle Cost (LCC)<\/li>\n<li>High reliability and safety operation during all flight phases; simple operation by pilot<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Comparable systems<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Leonardo UL\u2019s BriteCloud<\/strong>: It is being deployed on Eurofighter Typhoons, Sweden\u2019s Gripen-Es, and certain F-16 variants.<\/li>\n<li><strong>AN\/ALE-50\/55 series from Raytheon\/BAE Systems:<\/strong> It is being used on the F\/A-18E\/F Super Hornet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: During Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is believed to have successfully deployed the AI-enabled X-Guard Fibre-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) system, developed by Israel\u2019s Rafael. About X-Guard Fibre-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) System It is a state-of-the-art electronic warfare solution to provide fighter aircraft with protection against advanced radar-guided missile threats. Decoys They are&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/x-guard-fibre-optic-towed-decoy-fotd-system\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">X-Guard Fibre-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD) System<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10393,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,11959,1738,12039],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-345147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-defence","category-science-and-technology-daily-factly-articles","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345147\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}