Mark 36 SRBOC
Illustration — Two Mark 36 Mod 7 SRBOC launchers aboard the battleship Wisconsin during Operation Desert Storm. The BAE Systems Mark 36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures Chaff and Decoy Launching System (abbreviated as SRBOC or "Super-arboc") is an American short-range decoy launching system (DLS) that launches radar or infrared decoys from naval vessels to foil incoming anti-ship missiles. The decoys present false signals and interference to the attacking missiles' guidance and fire-control systems.
Also recorded as Mk 36 SRBOC · Mark 36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures Chaff and Decoy Launching System
Mark 36 SRBOC
Service Depicted: Navy Command Shown: N1601 Camera Operator: PHC (NAC) JOHN KRISTOFFERSEN · ID:DNST9202376 · Public domain
- Field
- countermeasure · mortar
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Mark 36 SRBOC. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q1934609 · wikipedia · Mark 36 SRBOC
In this article
Components
Components
The decoy launching system consists of: • Mark 137 launcher • Mark 158 Mod 1/2 master launcher control - located in the Combat Information Center. This is the primary means of operating the system. • Mark 164 Mod 1/2 bridge launcher control - gives the bridge the capability to also control the system. • Mark 160 Mod 1 power supply (one for each launcher) below deck - the power supplies operate from the onboard single-phase network 440 V, 60 Hz and supply launchers with a constant voltage of 28 V. In the event of a lack of voltage in the on-board network, they are capable of delivering 24 V from emergency batteries for 5–8 hours. • Ready service lockers with Mark 5 Mod 2 or Mark 6 Mod 0 rounds - located near each launcher, they enable quick reloading of the decoy launching systems. • Illustration — The SRBOC was part of the combat systems of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate.
Ammunition
Ammunition
The Mark 36 can be equipped with and fire the following decoys: • Mark 182 Mod 1/2 seduction chaff decoy • Mark 214 Mod 0 Sea Gnat seduction chaff decoy • Mark 216 Mod 0 Sea Gnat distraction chaff decoy • Mark 186 TORCH infrared decoy • Mark 245 GIANT infrared decoy • C-GEM Active Offboard Decoy • Illustration — Mark 36 SRBOC fires a chaff decoy from USS Stout.
Variants
Variants
• Mod — Total # of Rounds in Launchers (# of Launchers) — # of Ready Service Rounds (# of Lockers) • 1 and 5 — 12 (2 launchers) — 40 (2 lockers) • 2, 6, and 9 — 24 (4 launchers) — 80 (4 lockers) • 8 — 48 (8 launchers) — 160 (8 lockers) • 10 — 36 (6 launchers) — 120 (6 lockers) • 11 — 24 (4 launchers) — 140 (4 lockers) • 12 — 36 (6 launchers) — 210 (6 lockers) Table reference: • Illustration — Mark 36 SRBOC chaff decoy explodes.
Operators
Operators
As of 2010, over 1,000 Mark 36 SRBOC systems are in use by the fleets of at least 19 countries, including: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Description
The Mark 36 SRBOC uses the Mark 137 launcher, which has six fixed 130 mm mortar tubes arranged in two parallel rows. One row is set at 45 degrees and the other is set at 60 degrees, providing a spread of the launched decoys. Firing circuits use electromagnetic induction to set off the propelling charges in the decoy cartridges. They are launched at a speed of 75 m/s. Each launcher holds 12–36 rounds, depending on variant. The number and arrangement of Mk 36 launchers installed depends on the size of the ship, ranging from two launchers on a small combatant to as many as eight on an aircraft carrier. To complement conventional ballistic decoys, the FLYRT (FLYing Radar Target) decoy had been developed in the 1990s. It had rocket propulsion and flew at a ship-like speed in an attempt to present itself as a surface target. However, FLYRT did not undergo production. Instead, a modified version of the Mark 36 SRBOC, redesignated as the Mark 53 decoy launching system, was created to use the newer Nulka active radar decoy. Nulka hovers in the air and emits radiofrequency energy to lure the seekers of anti-ship missiles. The Mark 36 is interfaced with the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare suite. The SLQ-32 (with the exception of the (V)4 variant) can automatically fire decoys from the Mark 36 SRBOCs when it detects an anti-ship missile attack. The Mark 36 SRBOC is similar to the Sea Gnat decoy system.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Mark 36 SRBOC, revision 1360676505 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.MK 36 SRBOC. man.fas.org.
- 2.United Defense. Mk 36 SRBOC Chaff and Decoy Launching System. man.fas.org.
- 3.Naval Research Laboratory Review, 1992, p.106.
- 4.Parsch 2006.
- 5.MK 137 SRBOC. www.globalsecurity.org.
- 6.MK 53 - Decoy Launching System (Nulka). www.navy.mil. April 2025.
- 7.AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare (EW) system. man.fas.org.
- 8.Mk 36 Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures (SRBOC) Chaff and Decoy Launching System. BAE Systems International.
- 9.Dranidis, Dimitris. MK182 SRBOC Chaff. www.harpoondatabases.com.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Militaria
6,095 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Mark 33 torpedoTerminology
- Mark 34Terminology
- Mark 35 torpedoTerminology
- Mark 36 nuclear bombTerminology
- Mark 37 torpedoTerminology
- Mark 39 torpedoTerminology
- Mark 4 nuclear bombTerminology
- Mark 41 Vertical Launching SystemTerminology
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with Mark 36 SRBOC?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.