Deploy the decoys
© Alamy
An American Air Force AC-13OU gunship can jettison decoy flares to evade enemy forces. When heat-seeking missiles are on the tail of gunships like this, a series of decoy flares are deployed. These are magnesium-filled tubes that burn much hotter than the jet engines of the gunship. Aircraft launch these flares to throw the missiles off their tail, allowing planes to escape.