Navy Patent Envisions Laser-Induced Plasma Decoys and Silhouettes to Mislead Infrared-Guided Missiles

To the point

A Navy concept would use laser-generated plasma to emit decoy infrared signatures and fake aircraft silhouettes so air defenses are misled and missiles are guided away from a real stealth aircraft, noting that stealth is about avoiding engagement rather than invisibility, that heat-seeking missiles remain a vulnerability and pilots rely on tactics and flares to reduce exposure, and that a tail-mounted laser could project moving decoys across infrared to ultraviolet wavelengths for future protection of ships or urban defenses, though the technology is years from deployment and mainly aimed at survivability rather than true invisibility.