different color flares in apache helicopters

In afghanistan there is footage of some apache's in a valley releasing flares and some of them were greenish.

this was during the day time taken from Combat Outpost Keating. i did a quick search and didn't find anything on why it would be green, maybe it is for newer seeker heads, or the casing burning but as far as i can tell there isn't a reason for them being a different color.

the video states a few seconds before the shot im talking about, if you have time the whole video is a good watch.




apparently it wont let me start the video where i want, but its around 4:55

I'm not sure it's applicable, but much like laser optics on a weapon, green flares are easier to see in the daytime.

Red lasers are better for low light situations. Maybe that has something to do with it?

a reply to: Excallibacca

they are used to fool IR seekers because they offer the seeker a 'brighter' target in the infrared and in new seekers ultraviolet spectral bands.

most small shoulder launched missiles have pretty simple seekers and don't use visible light to track targets, newer missiles do have a database of various aircraft shapes to help it not get fooled by counter measures but i don't think they use visible light either.

the flares released in this video are not for illumination on the ground(it was day time), illumination flares usually have parachutes and long burn times and are very very bright white light(think burning magnesium), there are special flares for illuminating the ground at night that can only be seen(for the most part) thru night vision equipment.

the attackers in this case wouldn't have high end missile systems to bring down US aircraft, at best they would have something similar to our stinger systems. US aircraft have some pretty advanced countermeasure systems that dont rely on burning flares so to see a random green one that appears to come from the same canister is odd and must have a reason or very niche weapon countermeasure for the different color.





ETA: i guess it could be a signal flare but i have only ever heard of them coming from the ground, but the quick red to green release might be just that...signal flares

a reply to: penroc3

Haven't watched the video, but my guess based on what you're describing is that there are actually three different flares popped-- one is not emitting in the visual light spectrum. They cover different bands of the spectrum with some overlap to increase effectiveness.

a reply to: RadioRobert

possibly.

the video is only 6-8 mins long and is a good story.


something i haven't seen is getting rare these days when it comes to aircraft, so it grabbed my attention.

a reply to: penroc3
I just watched this, and must say that was some impressive soldiering. "We got to take this bitch back!" And they did. Thanks for the video, no input on the flares though.

a reply to: RadioRobert

one is not emitting in the visual light spectrum.

That would be a very interesting flare. Hard to imagine how that would work. Standard countermeasure flares put out a lot of infrared radiation, but also a lot of visible radiation.


OP: I see a red and green flare. My guess would be signaling.

a reply to: Phage

It will have a much, much smaller visible emission. To a degree that in daylight may not be visible at a distance. It does not "burn". It oxidizes very quickly which releases an exceptional amount of heat. Occasionally the casing will burn. You can control the rate it is exposed, so you can end up with a long lasting cloud of hot stuff emitting heat in the bands similar to an engine (which is generally not a great source of visible radiation. Modern seeker heads compare the spectral band and can easily distinguish the difference between a hot object burning bright and emitting heat and a hot object that isn't emitting an exceptionally bright visible fireball. They aren't just looking for heat. They are looking for heat in the right wavelengths).

A magnesium flare burns out more quickly, and is wasting a lot of its emission in a visible band that you really don't want in the first place, and seeker heads can recognize them. Using a combination of different flares in carefully timed and coordinated bursts makes it more difficult for the seeker heads to see through the resulting heat cloud and distinguish the target. If a seeker head sees the magnesium signature, it knows engines don't emit that same spectrum. But if it sees magnesium spectrum along with several other signatures, it makes it harder for the seeker to distinguish what if anything within that blur is relevant and what should be ignored.