DB - Digital Battlespace
Leonardo begins BriteCloud decoy deliveries to RAF
Leonardo has begun delivering its BriteCloud decoy to the UK Royal Air Force (RAF), the company announced on 28 March.
The countermeasure protects fighter jets from modern radar-guided missiles. BriteCloud stows a sophisticated electronic radar jamming system into a package just a few inches long. The decoy can fit into a fighter aircraft’s standard chaff and flare dispenser and can be ejected at the push of a button if the aircraft is locked onto by a modern radar guided missile.
Upon launch, BriteCloud powers up and its automatic jammer produces a ‘ghost’ signal to defeat an enemy’s radar, and can protect its host aircraft even in situations where traditional chaff and flare countermeasures would be ineffective.
The technology is called an active expendable decoy; 'active' because of the electronic jammer and 'expendable' because the decoy is fired away from the combat jet to create a large ‘miss distance’ for an incoming missile.
The acceptance of BriteCloud into service follows a series of tests carried out by the RAF in the US in June 2017, which saw dozens of BriteCloud decoys launched from Tornado GR4 aircraft by the RAF’s 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron against high-tech radar guidance systems.
The RAF will be the first air force in the world to field this new protective technology.
More from Digital Battlespace
-
Indra EW systems for German corvettes
Indra has signed a contract with Atlas Elektronik to provide its Rigel electronic defence systems for the German Navy's new series of K130 corvettes, the ...
-
Rohde & Schwarz receives BRASS EO order
Rohde & Schwarz will implement NATO's Broadcast and Ship Shore Enhancement One (BRASS EO) architecture for the Danish Ministry of Defence under a contract announced ...
-
NATO to send Ukraine secure comms amid Russia standoff
NATO announced on 13 December that it will supply Ukraine with secure communications equipment by the end of the year to help Kiev combat destabilisation ...
-
Advanced antenna sets for Halifax frigates
The Canadian Department of National Defence has awarded a $21.7 million contract to Saab Microwave Canada for the supply of a modern electronically-stabilised antenna set ...
-
Port of Amsterdam trials MADS
The Port of Amsterdam is testing Martek’s Marine Anti Drone System (MADS) to explore UAS usage in its airspace. The four-week trial will focus on ...
-
SRC receives AN/TPQ-49A radar contract
SRC has received a five-year indefinite IDIQ contract for the sustainment support and technology refresh of the US Marine Corps’ AN/TPQ-49 radar systems along with ...