AN/ALQ-144

They were developed by Sanders Associates in the 1970s to counter the threat of infrared guided surface-to-air missiles like the 9K32 Strela-2.

If an aircraft needed to loiter over a high risk area or was flying slowly (as helicopters do), it would require a large number of flares to decoy any missile fired at it.

[citation needed] Both systems consist of a heated silicon carbide block or cesium arc-lamp[1] that radiates a large amount of infra-red energy.

It is surrounded by a large cylindrical mechanical shutter that modulates the infra-red output, producing a pulsing pattern.

The ALQ-144A was rushed into US service in time for the 1991 Gulf War, as Iraq had stocks of 9K34 Strela-3 and 9K38 missiles, against which the ALQ-144 was only partially effective.