Nulka missile decoy tested on aircraft carrier

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The Nulka active missile decoy by BAE Systems Australia has been successfully fired from a U.S. aircraft carrier for the first time, the company reports.

Five successful launches took place over three days last month from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during sea trials in the Atlantic Ocean from a U.S. Navy CVN Class aircraft carrier for the first time.

"While Nulka has been used by smaller U.S. naval vessels for years, it had never been fired from a ship as large as an aircraft carrier before," BAE Systems said.

The Nulka is a rocket-propelled, disposable decoy. It hovers in midair and lures away incoming missiles from their intended targets by radiating a ship-like radar cross section. The decoy was jointly developed by Australia and the United States. Australia developed the hovering rocket while the U.S. developed the electronic payload.

More than 150 U.S., Australian and Canadian warships carry the system, but none as large as a carrier.