Why do military planes always pop flares after doing a run

Question

Why do military planes always pop flares after doing a run

In: 0

Answer 1

So chances are being that close to the front line, there might be Manpads (shoulder mounted anti air missiles). They pop flares to evade any heatseakers as they can’t tell they are being fired on as there is no in cockpit warning. The flares burn higher than the engine nozzle so attempt to trick the missile into changing course after it.