When they are set to automatic its much more boring if you see film of an Apache or an A-10 in combat you'll see them in semi automatic mode the computer will just pop one or two every so often after crew approval.
The Royal Army Apaches have the most advanced counter measures deployed on a combat chopper they run theirs on fully automatic while most others set to semi auto and the crew has to approve a decoy launch but the system does the rest.Fully automatic the system alerts so they crew can make proper evasion while the system does all the decoy launching it self with no human intervention.
The trick is to dump the flares when an IR system is merely active then it will have a very hard time ever gaining a lock in the first place.When you see several flares get dumped its because something got launched or its for a photo or training where an air crew is trying to make a SAM unit fail as in the Transall photo.
I read that some airlines are concerned enough to consider having their airliners have an automatic decoy system a DHL jet got hit by an SA14 in Iraq and the crew managed to land it safely.Supposedly(maybe not true) Qantas actually has some of their air liners equipped with automatic decoys smart idea I say.
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