Chaff

Chaff was a type of electronic countermeasure that could be used to combat missiles. Chaff could be released from a ship's engines, creating a cloud of particles behind them. This would scramble the sensors of any ships or missiles passing through it, breaking "target lock". The effect would last until the cloud eventually dissipated.

Chaff could also be electrified and deployed from electro-chaff missiles to damage or disable starships.

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