Forum: F-16 Armament & Stores

I have heard that an aircraft, I believe the [Link pending approval] sure, has a chaff dispensing system that actually cuts the chaffs dipole elements in flight.

Basically, the dispenser is fed a countious line of chaff and then it is cut to the proper wavelength as it is being dispensed.

Does the F-16 have this system?

If not, does anyone know what aircraft and/or the name of this chaff dispensing system?

-Professor

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I have found it !!!

The system is the AN/ALE-43 Chaff Cutter and Dispensing System.

Anyhow, sorry for the errant post.

Thanks!

I've worked around that system and the F-16. It might fit in the cockpit (without a pilot or seat) but no place else on the Viper. It's monster. We had them installed in the tails of our LearJets for ECM training for the military. Had one once that went haywire over the Atlantic off the coast of Florida and it cut and spit all the chaff on all the reels (the reels are huge) and it set of the Severe Storms Forcast warning system in Oklahoma.

falconfixer860261 wrote:

it set of the Severe Storms Forcast warning system in Oklahoma.

IDCrewDawg wrote:

falconfixer860261 wrote:

it set of the Severe Storms Forcast warning system in Oklahoma.

That was kept pretty quiet and the folks in OK never knew what caused it. About like the time a BUFF pulled in behind a 135 and told them he was in position but the boomer said he didn't have visual. There was much arguing and name calling until the BUFF crew realized they were trying to mate with a civilian airlines 707. Sheepish crew went off quietly to find the aircraft with the right appendage in the back.

Professor wrote:

I have heard that an aircraft, I believe the F-16...not sure, has a chaff dispensing system that actually cuts the chaffs dipole elements in flight.

Basically, the dispenser is fed a countious line of chaff and then it is cut to the proper wavelength as it is being dispensed.

Does the F-16 have this system?

If not, does anyone know what aircraft and/or the name of this chaff dispensing system?

I've never seen that personally on the F-16, our Chaff flare boxes look to be "preset" and the plunger on the jet pushes the chaff or flare out of the box, but I could be wrong.

Ender_Wiggin wrote:

Professor wrote:

I have heard that an aircraft, I believe the F-16...not sure, has a chaff dispensing system that actually cuts the chaffs dipole elements in flight.

Basically, the dispenser is fed a countious line of chaff and then it is cut to the proper wavelength as it is being dispensed.

Does the F-16 have this system?

If not, does anyone know what aircraft and/or the name of this chaff dispensing system?

-Professor

I've never seen that personally on the F-16, our Chaff flare boxes look to be "preset" and the plunger on the jet pushes the chaff or flare out of the box, but I could be wrong.

You're right - they are precut cartridges. The one he is talking about is used in big a/c like the BUFF that can't yank and bank as well to avoid bad stuff.

A few years back during a special holiday celebration a bunch of aluminum skinned party balloons was accidentally let go just a couple of miles away from an RNoAF air base. These then showed up as a potential intruder on military radars, but also as an aircraft by the civilian tower, which closed the runways due to non-replying “crossing traffic”

I've heard of a story that a few man were transporting chaff cartridges. Trying to do this economicaly, they used a supermarkt trolley.

Unfortunately, when driving it, it tumbled and some of the cartridges who fell on the concrete went opened. The wind then dispersed the chaff all over the airfield, including the runway. Needles to say that the operations had te be suspended for some time......

Falconner

Falconner wrote:

I've heard of a story that a few man were transporting chaff cartridges. Trying to do this economicaly, they used a supermarkt trolley.

Unfortunately, when driving it, it tumbled and some of the cartridges who fell on the concrete went opened. The wind then dispersed the chaff all over the airfield, including the runway. Needles to say that the operations had te be suspended for some time......

Falconner

Probably an urban legend - the stuff doesn't quite work that way.

Total BS, Chaff gets dropped all the time and it does not jam every radar for a zillion miles. It is specific in its design. I have had to take troops to the doc because they got in their hair and eyes.

EriktheF-16462 wrote:

Total BS, Chaff gets dropped all the time and it does not jam every radar for a zillion miles. It is specific in its design. I have had to take troops to the doc because they got in their hair and eyes.

I think he meant it had to be shut down due to the FOD all over the place...

Chaff is like hair, I really doubt a jet, even with a Pratt motor, would have one bit of problem ingesting it. The folks that think it is foil are mistaken. Plus to fod a runway where someone could see the problem would take hundreds of sticks. I just find the entire scenario complete BS. Even the largest bundles from a/c like the B1 are not much bigger than a fist and the stuff is like I said, hair. A good thing to compare it it is thistle or dandelion seeds.

EriktheF-16462 wrote:

Chaff is like hair, I really doubt a jet, even with a Pratt motor, would have one bit of problem ingesting it. The folks that think it is foil are mistaken. Plus to fod a runway where someone could see the problem would take hundreds of sticks. I just find the entire scenario complete BS. Even the largest bundles from a/c like the B1 are not much bigger than a fist and the stuff is like I said, hair. A good thing to compare it it is thistle or dandelion seeds.

I wasn't disagreeing with you - you just mentioned the radar thing and I was trying to clarify what I though he meant. You're totally right on the chaff. But just to add - it is not totally harmless to jets under the right circumstances. Like when it migrates to areas it shouldn't and plugs up vents.

And "just because its like hair" doesn't mean supervision won't freak about it going up the intake of a jet. There are stories of birds going through engines without a hiccup, but we dont' throw fowl down the intake for fun. Same reason we're expected to pick up every little pebble, scrap, whatever on the ramp during fod walks. Odds are most of it won't hurt the motor bad (IF it got sucked up) but it is still considered a FOD threat.

Forum: F-16 Armament & Stores

Chaff dispenser system