Ukraine's Mig‑29 deploys decoy missiles to outsmart Russian defences

A video shows a Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft carrying intriguing ADM-160B MALD missiles. Their target is Russian air defence. We explain what they are and how they work.

While waiting for the promised F-16 aircraft, the Ukrainian Air Force continues to operate actively with the few remaining serviceable MiG-29, Su-27, and Su-24 aircraft. One of the tools allowing them to operate within the range of Russian air defence is the unique ADM-160B MALD missile provided by the USA.

These are non-kinetic missiles designed to distract Russian air defence away from real targets, as bomb-carrying aircraft with JDAM-ER, AASM Hammer, Paveway, or missiles like Storm Shadow and AGM-88 HARM.

The ADM-160B MALD (Miniature Air-Launched Decoy) missile was developed by Raytheon in the early 21st century as a continuation of a project initiated by DARPA in 1995. The first model, ADM-160A MALD, created by Teledyne Ryan, was completed shortly thereafter, but the program was cancelled in 2002 due to insufficient range.

However, work resumed under the efforts of RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon), resulting in the enhanced version ADM-160B MALD being introduced into the United States Air Force (USAF) arsenal in 2009.

The ADM-160B MALD missile, instead of a traditional warhead, carries equipment designed to simulate the radar and signal signatures characteristic of specific types of aircraft. Additionally, the missile can mimic flight trajectories, making the decoy look like a credible target to enemy air defence operators.

This capability allows air defence to be focused on a different area from the actual threat. Most radar systems have limited detection angles, and older designs using semi-active radar homing missiles require the air defence system's radar to illuminate the target with a steady beam until impact continuously. For this reason, these systems have limited capabilities against targets approaching from other directions.

Furthermore, the ADM-160B MALD missiles can serve as decoys to activate air defence systems (turn on radars), exposing them to attacks from aircraft equipped with anti-radiation missiles like the AGM-88 HARM.

Moreover, newer versions, such as the ADM-160C MALD-J, introduced in 2012, include capabilities like jamming enemy radar operations or changing parameters mid-flight thanks to a communication link.

All of this is packed into a missile weighing 115 kilograms (250 pounds), with a length of 2.8 metres (9 feet) and a wingspan of 1.7 metres (5.6 feet). The ADM-160B MALD can fly for 45 minutes and has a range of up to 570 miles (920 kilometres). Despite its non-kinetic operational nature, this is a vital tool in the Ukrainian Air Force's arsenal.