A carbon-fiber airframe for U.S. Air Force miniature decoy systems has been developed using robotic and formula racing technologies, Raytheon reports.

Raytheon said the airframe for the Miniature Air Lanch Decoy, or MALD, and MALD-J systems was developed in partnership with Fokker Technologies of the Netherlands and Italy's Dallara and reduces the airframe production cost by 25 percent.

"MALD is a cost-efficient, modular system that can protect manned aircraft from the need to engage threats and make stand-off munitions even more lethal," said Scott Muse, Raytheon's MALD programs director.

"Driving affordability is a key element of customer success. Through the partnership with Fokker, Dallara and the U.S. Air Force, we delivered MALD's capabilities at a lower price."

Raytheon said Fokker Technologies, which develops and produces advanced structures and electrical systems, helped to adapt robots to wind the carbon fiber fuselage of the composite airframe and Dallara applied the lightweight, strong structural technologies used in Indy car racing to airframe accessories.

Previously, the carbon-fiber fuselage of the decoy system followed a conventional, hand-built approach.

The new innovative composite design will be included in this year's Lot 7 production of the systems.

MALD is a modular, air-launched and programmable flight vehicle with a range of 500 nautical miles that protects aircraft by confusing incoming missiles by duplicating the combat flight profiles and signatures of U.S. and allied aircraft.

MALD-J adds radar-jamming capability to the basic MALD platform.