OVERVIEW: ship-launched Chaff rockets are countermeasure munitions designed to deploy clouds of radar-reflective chaff fibers. These clouds create false radar echoes to confuse and decoy incoming radar-guided missiles, enhancing the ship’s defensive capability against anti-ship threats.

DETAILS: Fired from specialized launchers aboard naval vessels, chaff rockets rapidly disperse metalized fibers into the atmosphere, forming a radar-reflective cloud that masks the ship’s true location or generates multiple false targets. The rocket propels the chaff to a safe distance and altitude to maximize effectiveness against radar seekers. These countermeasures are an integral part of layered ship defense systems, working alongside electronic warfare suites and hard-kill interceptors to increase survivability in missile engagements.

ROLE SUMMARY:
Category: Naval Countermeasure
Primary Use: Radar-guided missile defense via radar signature deception
Function: Dispersion of radar-reflective chaff fibers by rocket delivery
Strong Against: Radar-guided anti-ship missiles, radar tracking systems
Weak Against: Infrared-guided missiles, kinetic attacks, salvo missile saturation
Platform: Surface combatants equipped with chaff rocket launchers
Integration: Compatible with shipborne electronic warfare and decoy systems

SOURCE:
Janes Naval Defense Systems
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaff_(countermeasure)