Mark 36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff (SRBOC)

Mark 36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff (SRBOC). Battleship New Jersey. , The USS New Jersey was outfitted with the Mark 36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Chaff, or SRBOC (pronounced super arboc), during her modernization in the 1980s, as were all the Iowa-class battleships., Working in conjunction with the AN/SLQ-32, ("Slick 32") Electronic Warfare and Phalanx Close-In Weapons Systems (CIWS) the SRBOC was dependent upon information provided by the detection and threat analysis equipment on the ship, SRBOC would be activated once the "Slick 32" failed to deter the enemy. After the SRBOC was engaged, the CIWS would be available to begin firing as it detects objects coming towards the ship. Both systems could be controlled and activated from either the Combat Engagement Center (CEC) or the Navigation Bridge. However, once the crew knew the ship was headed into a combat zone; watertight caps protecting the equipment would be manually removed in order for the SRBOC to be operational., Deck mounted, this mortar-tube countermeasure system consisted of a small rocket motor that propelled a canister or decoy, up and away from the ship. Each system includes six 130-mm tubes arranged in parallel rows at 45 and 60 degree angles. This allowed the canisters or decoys to be launched at differing heights and ranges. A deck locker containing additional canisters is near each system in order to provide for quick reloading., An electromagnetic charge generates the firing circuits and initiates the propelling charges in the cartridges. The launched canister contained hundreds to thousands of small metallic strips and debris called chaff. Once launched the canister traveled approximately 700 feet in the air before it exploded, creating a cloud designed to generate a false target and confuse or distract the incoming enemy missiles.