Nulka is an Australian designed and developed active missile decoy

Decoy

A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.-Duck decoy:The term duck decoy may...

 built by an Australian/American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 collaboration. Used aboard warships of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 (USN), Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 (RAN), United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 (USCG), and Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces Maritime Command

The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...

, Nulka is a rocket propelled, disposable, offboard, active decoy designed to seduce anti-ship missiles away from their targets. It has a unique design in that it hovers in mid air while seducing the incoming anti-ship missile. The hovering rocket concept was initiated in Australia by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation

Defence Science and Technology Organisation

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation is a branch of the Australian Department of Defence which researches and develops technologies for use in the Australian defence industry....

 (DSTO), and the system was designed, developed and then manufactured by AWA Defence Industries (AWADI) (now BAE Systems Australia

BAE Systems Australia

BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is the largest defence contractor in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holdings in 2007 and Tenix Defence in June 2008.-History:BAE Systems'...

). The word "Nulka" is of Australian Aboriginal origin and means "be quick".

The Nulka consists of the missile itself enclosed in a hermetically sealed canister. This canister is then contained in a Launcher module (as fitted to RAN and USCG vessels), or a Mark 36 launcher (as fitted to USN vessels).

Nulka had been fitted to more than 130 Australian, Canadian and United States warships and over 1,000 decoys had been produced. At this time it was expected that the system would be fitted to US Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier

Aircraft carrier

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

s as well as Australia's future destroyers. This made the system Australia's most successful defence export.