Modelling an infrared Man Portable Air Defence System

The global proliferation of shoulder launched IR Man Portable Air Defence Systems (ManPADS) has resulted in the existence of a serious threat to both civilian and military aircraft from terrorist attack. Some of the older generations of ManPADS can be defeated with modern countermeasures but even the most sophisticated protection still has vulnerabilities to the latest family of ManPADS. This paper describes the work undertaken by the authors to model a second generation ManPAD, based on the Russian SA-14, and assess the vulnerabilities of aircraft both with and without flare countermeasures from these systems. The conclusions are the results of over 11,000 simulated firings against targets of varying aspects, velocities and altitudes.