The article explains the current state of aviation armament and equipment protection from missile attacks. The necessity of improvement and ways of prospective development for aircraft protection systems are considered in the work. The analysis of the directions for solving the problem of detecting a missile attack on an aircraft is performed. There has also been given a solid consideration for methods and means for detecting the launch and flight of a missile in the infrared and ultraviolet band of electromagnetic waves. The source of ultraviolet emission, in particular the additives of rocket fuel in the process of combustion, is considered. A brief description of the frequency bands of the spectrum of ultraviolet emission and their classification in accordance with the current regulations of Ukraine and the classification of the International Commission on Illumination (Fr.-CIE) is provided. Considerable attention is paid to the frequency band called "solar blind". The basic characteristics of the ultraviolet sensors of the Soviet and Russian production are given. A brief overview of the missile attack early warning stations of foreign production, mentioning the aircraft on which they are installed is performed. Operational characteristics’ features of these stations are described in a concise way. The specifications of early warning stations are also given. The necessity of close interaction of these stations with the means of countermeasures, with the prospect of full integration with the onboard aircraft defense complex is shown.

After the collapse of the USSR the Armed Forces of Ukraine inherited not only armament and military equipment, but also the system of formation of its designations (names). In the USSR, each Customer of armament and military equipment (AME) had its own system of designations of military equipment with the corresponding nomenclature catalogs. Radio electronic equipment (REO) was presented in the nomenclature catalogs of various supply organs and therefore the names of various techniques were often of related origin and were unsystematic. In the Armed Forces of Ukraine there are no requirements for the designation/names of equipment (not to be confused with the codification of equipment). The development and manufacture of REO by domestic enterprises in these conditions gives them the right to assign the designation of equipment at their own discretion. The use of the Soviet/Russian system of designations of AME leads to confusion. The article analyzes the Soviet/Russian and American system of designations (formation of names) of armament and military equipment. The real state of affairs on this issue in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is analyzed. Showed the need to create a new system of designations of REO and indicated the ways of its development. The main factors that need to be put into the basis of this system are defined.

Analysis of combat losses of aircraft in local armed conflicts in recent decades shows that most cases of aircraft hits are related to the impact of guided surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles equipped with homing warheads. The use of modern guided missiles equipped with homing warheads is one of the main threats to aircraft of various types. This is due to the fact that modern guided missiles are characterized by high speed, maneuverability, accuracy of aiming and difficulty of detection. Solving the problem of protecting aircraft from guided missiles consists of several stages: detection of missile launch; confirmation that the detected missile is heading directly toward the protected object; missile identification and decision-making on the most effective countermeasure system employment. At present, there are no missile launch detection systems that guarantee a 100% probability of threat detection, but an analysis of aviation combat losses in local armed conflicts in recent decades convincingly shows that the number of combat losses of aircraft equipped with such systems is much lower than those in which missile launch detection is carried out visually. For example, most of the Soviet Union's losses during the war in Afghanistan and the United States‟ losses during Operation “Desert Storm” in Iraq were related to the use of portable anti-aircraft missile systems, which missiles were equipped with infrared homing warheads. Realizing the scale of the threat posed by such missiles, most of the world's leading countries have significantly increased the expenses on development new or improvement existing countermeasures. As a result, the aggregate losses of coalition forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria since 2001 clearly suggest that these costs have paid off, with losses from the use of portable anti-aircraft missile systems significantly reduced, while the total number of combat sorties increased. Therefore, in the face of all the challenges and threats posed to Ukraine due to the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation, conducting research in the interests of aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to improve the effectiveness of missile detection systems for ensuring timely detection of threats, warning of aircraft crew and activation in the automatic mode the means of countermeasures is as relevant as ever.