Article Posted on : - Aug 02, 2010

Nulka Decoy System. Lockheed Martin photo

MARION, MASSACHUSETTS (BNS): Lockheed Martin has manufactured and delivered the 1,000th payload for the Nulka decoy program, a joint effort between the US and a Royal Australian navy that uses a hovering decoy to lead an incoming missile away from a ship.

Nulka is an integral part of the ship self defense system against active RF anti-ship missile attacks; its incorporation into a ship’s layered defense system is essential in providing ship survivability under high stress conditions in the littoral and open ocean environments.

It is highly effective against current and new generation anti-ship missiles and is effective over a full 360 degrees around the defended ship. The effectiveness of the decoy is wholly independent of ship maneuvers even in the most extreme environmental conditions, Lockheed said.

Nulka is installed on several classes of US Navy and Canadian navy ships, as well as on every Australian surface combatant.

Lockheed Martin has worked with BAE Systems Australia, the Nulka decoy prime contractor, since 1994. The payloads are manufactured by Lockheed Martin in Marion and the decoys are assembled by BAE Systems in Australia.