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Infrared signature of aero-engine exhaust plume’s potential core and aircraft surface from direct bottom view

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2025

A. Bhatt  and
S.P. Mahulikar Open the ORCID record for S.P. Mahulikar [Opens in a new window]
A. Bhatt
Affiliation:
Aeronautical Development Agency, Bangalore, India Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
S.P. Mahulikar*
Affiliation:
IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain Departamento de Ingeniería Energética, Escuela de Ingeniería de Bilbao, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain
*
Corresponding author: S.P. Mahulikar; Email: shripadprabhakar.mahulikar@ehu.eus
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Abstract

Low-flying aircraft are susceptible to attacks by ground-launched infrared (IR)-guided man portable air defence system (MANPADS) and surface-to-air missiles (SAM). When seen from direct below, a dual band sensor can lock on to either exhaust plume or aircraft surfaces. Based on the magnitude of the IR signature, the missile can use any one source for the terminal guidance. In this study, the IR signature of the aircraft surface and potential plume core is analysed and compared from direct bottom view in different IR bands. In the Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) band, the surface emission is higher and in the Medium Wave Infrared (MWIR) band the plume emission is higher. The plume (MWIR) emission is higher than the surface (LWIR) emission for low Mach numbers, but as the Mach number increases the plume (MWIR) to surface (LWIR) emission ratio decreases, and at supersonic Mach numbers the surface LWIR signature is higher than the plume MWIR signature. The plume MWIR to surface LWIR ratio further depends on the engine power, altitude of operation and the emissivity of the aircraft surface. In the reheat mode, plume MWIR emission is always higher than the surface LWIR emission. The dual band IR detector can be a combination of short wave infrared (SWIR)-MWIR, SWIR-LWIR, and the MWIR-LWIR band. The MWIR-LWIR dual band combination is the best suited combination of IR windows for a dual band IR sensor/detector for aircraft application.

Keywords

stealthlow observablesIR signatureplume’s potential coreMANPADSterminal guidance
Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , First View , pp. 1 - 17
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal Aeronautical Society

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