@Aarons123 Your real life info is really wrong. Yes, flares are also used to spot and illuminate stuff, but in planes they are used to counter heat seeking missiles, because flares burn at really high temperatures, probably hotter than the jet engines. Chaff, on the other hand, don't do shit to heat seekers, their sole purpose is to reflect radio waves emitted by radars back to them, so they think the chaff is the jet and go for it instead. So flares for heat seekers, chaff for radar guided missiles.
@Aarons123 Your real life info is really wrong. Yes, flares are also used to spot and illuminate stuff, but in planes they are used to counter heat seeking missiles, because flares burn at really high temperatures, probably hotter than the jet engines. Chaff, on the other hand, don't do shit to heat seekers, their sole purpose is to reflect radio waves emitted by radars back to them, so they think the chaff is the jet and go for it instead. So flares for heat seekers, chaff for radar guided missiles.
+1@Liensis The end of the cannon is in the cockpit so the pilot can aim it ;)