The airborne active defense system is a specialized anti missile defense system equipped for military aircraft. By utilizing laser, ultraviolet/infrared, and missile interception techniques, combined with soft and hard kill modes, we can achieve effective response to incoming attacksMissileEffective defense. The rapid development of air defense missile technology has given birth to a group of portable air defense missiles with better performance and lower cost. In sharp contrast, military aircraft platforms are expensive, and once destroyed, they may cause dual losses of personnel and equipment, which is not conducive to combat and logistical support. Therefore, it is necessary to develop dedicated active defense systems for military aircraft.

The airborne active defense system based on a single response method has already been applied to fixed wingsaircraftIn response to the threat of so-called armed militants, Israel has widely equipped its civilian aircraft with the "Flight Guardian" infrared anti missile system. The airborne active defense system, which covers multiple frequency bands and multiple purposes, has only entered the public eye in recent years. The Russian "Vitebsk" airborne active defense system has performed well in actual combat, significantly improving the battlefield survivability of Russian helicopters. From the perspective of current combat applications, airborne active defense systems face many threats from portable air defense missiles. The new generation of portable air defense missiles, represented by the Russian 9K333 "Willow" portable air defense missile, generally use multiple guidance modes of guidance heads and have strong anti-interference capabilities. This is a significant threat to defense systems that still use a single countermeasure mode. The improvement of portable air defense missile performance has spurred the development of a new generation of airborne active defense systems.

At present, airborne active defense systems are mainly applied to manned fixed wing aircraft and helicopters flying at medium and low altitudes, and are presented to manned fixed wing aircraft flying at medium and high altitudesUAVThe trend of field diffusion.

The rapid development of air defense missile performance has given rise to an urgent need for airborne active defense systems. The United States, Russia, and other countries already have relatively mature and reliable airborne active defense systems, and substitutes for related equipment are also being intensively developed.

Russia has made great achievements in the field of airborne active defense systems, achieving a balance between soft and hard killing. The "Vitebsk" system has withstood the test of practical combat, greatly improving the survivability of the carrier and ensuring the safety of its members. Its export model "President-S" has frequently appeared at international arms exhibitions. The "Vitebsk" system has a complex configuration, consisting of onboard control systems, infrared jamming missile launchers, laser/infrared/ultraviolet countermeasure systems, electronic countermeasure systems, and systems distributed throughout the aircraftsensorform. Different types of jammers can deal with various threats, which is the key to the effective response of the system to various air defense weapons. The "Vitebsk" system embodies the design concept of modular configuration, and the jamming devices mounted on different aircraft have certain differences: Ka-52 armed helicopters generally carry infrared jamming missile launchers and laser countermeasure systems, while Mi-8 series transport helicopters carry two different types of laser/optoelectronic suppression systems. The use platform of "Vitebsk" is not limited to helicopters, but can also be carried by fixed wing aircraft. The Russian military has equipped its latest Su-25SM3 attack aircraft with this system. At present, Russian military Ka-52 armed helicopters, Mi-8/Mi-171 series transport helicopters, Mi-24 armed helicopters and other models are equipped with the "Vitebsk" system. In the future, the Russian military will further apply this system to fixed wing aircraft. The Russian airborne active defense system generally uses a set of control equipment to control different types of adversarial devices, which are distributed throughout the aircraft to form an overall perception of the battlefield environment.

The US military aircraft generally carry a large number of countermeasures, but there is little in-depth research in the field of active defense, which makes the practical process of the US airborne active defense system lag behind Russia. The airborne active defense systems being studied by the US military mainly include the HKSPCS system, which uses micro missiles or decoys to counter incoming targets, and the self-defense countermeasure system, which uses electronic warfare pods. The HKSPCS system, also known as the 'hard kill self-protection countermeasure system', is a type of system that uses miniature missiles to counter enemy attacksMissileThe active defense system. The HKSPCS system is designed for large platforms such as the P-8A and C-130, and can be launched from large platforms or integrated into specially developed pods. The miniature missile MSDM, developed by Raytheon in the United States, weighs only 10-30 kilograms and is very suitable for mass carrying on large platforms. Electronic warfare is a major highlight of the US military's airborne active defense system. The US military has equipped its F-16 fighter jets with the latest AN/ALQ-257 electronic warfare system, which can not only release decoys and sense threats, but also launch electronic warfare attacks, achieving the characteristic of "active defense". It should be noted that although the US airborne active defense system has not achieved coverage of hard kill requirements, it has shown distinct technical characteristics, mainly reflected in the high integration of modularity and podding. Pod integration puts higher demands on the software compatibility performance of the carrier, which reflects the design concept of podding for the US airborne active defense system.