The U.S. Air Nationwide Guard (ANG) has issued a ‘fielding advice’ for Leonardo’s BriteCloud 218 expendable lively decoy, examined on US F-16 Combating Falcon plane. The decoy will likely be designated AN/ALQ-260(V)1 in U.S. Armed Forces service. Which means that the service, which has carried out an intensive testing and stay trials marketing campaign with BriteCloud since 2019, is assured that the decoy meets and, in some cases, even exceeds operational necessities, delivering an elevated platform safety functionality to 4th technology fighter plane just like the F-16. BriteCloud’s world-first miniaturised jamming expertise delivers a serious improve in plane safety in comparison with conventional expendable countermeasures.
The fielding advice by the ANG is likely one of the closing levels of the programme and offers the inexperienced gentle to BriteCloud 218 as confirmed efficient and match for operations. The U.S. Air Pressure has subsequently designated BriteCloud 218 as AN/ALQ-260(V)1, figuring out it as an airborne digital warfare countermeasure. BriteCloud is exclusive within the fight air countermeasure market, packing latest-generation DRFM jamming expertise right into a compact expendable that may be launched from customary countermeasure dispensers. In contrast to conventional chaff and flares, BriteCloud employs a classy on-board digital warfare functionality designed to counter radar-guided threats.
Commercial
Designed and manufactured by Leonardo within the UK, BriteCloud has already entered service with the UK’s Royal Air Pressure. As a world-first expertise, BriteCloud has been present process analysis for potential service with U.S. Armed Forces below the Workplace of Secretary of Protection (OSD) International Comparative Testing (FCT) programme. The BriteCloud 218-variant rounds evaluated below the FCT are standard-sized rectangular countermeasures measuring simply two by one by eight inches. This implies they’re suitable with widespread dispensers together with the AN/ALE-47 and are able to equip different 4th technology fighters such because the F-15, F/A-18, F-16 and A-10 fighters.
BriteCloud 218 can be an efficient safety functionality for smaller uncrewed platforms, with the German Armed Forces efficiently trialing the system with goal drone plane final 12 months. Leonardo’s authentic BriteCloud 55 decoy (a barely bigger variant, suitable with spherical 55mm flare dispensers equivalent to these on the Eurofighter Hurricane and Saab Gripen C/D), is utilized by the UK’s Royal Air Pressure. BriteCloud’s distinctive mixture of latest-generation menace safety with extraordinarily low integration prices continues to generate vital worldwide curiosity and Leonardo is in talks with quite a lot of Air Forces in regards to the functionality.
