MBDA’s Expendable Remote Carrier is a “disposable remote carrier” (ERC) that is part of the European SCAF program whose primary purpose is to confuse the enemy and take the air defense system out of cover. ERCs are being developed by the European rocket group MBDA and the first demonstration sample is expected to take off in 2029.

The basic idea is that the enemy’s air defense systems will be confused by the ERC decoy missile. For example, it is necessary to obtain information about the location of an enemy air defense system close to the front line, where it is dangerous for a piloted fighter aircraft to fly. The pilot launches a swarm of ERCs, each equipped with sensors that act as eyes.

ERCs will report what they see in real time to the pilot who launched them and to the rest of the battlenet. Also, due to the inability of enemy systems to distinguish ERCs from warplanes and launching missiles, they will act as false targets, thereby revealing their position.

The enemy’s anti-aircraft defenses will detect their position by firing at decoy carriers, which will allow the cruise missile to hit the target unhindered.

The 400-kilogram, four-metre aircraft carrier can be launched from any platform: aircraft, ship, submarine, vehicle or unmanned aerial vehicle.

“It will fly like a decoy airplane,” Fallon said, “about an hour with a very compact and maneuverable airframe with a very long subsonic operating range.”

When creating a decoy rocket, it will be necessary to solve the problem of how to ensure sufficient autonomy of the ERC so as not to place too large a load on the pilot. Jude de Lariviere, a former Rafale pilot in the French Navy, said: “I flew the first version of the Rafale, which was very simple, and I flew the latest version, which was much more complex.

Therefore, it is clear that the ERC must have some autonomy so as not to place too much of a burden on the pilot. We must give the ERC the autonomy pilots need and let them choose whether they want to control the ERC.”