The US Navy has awarded Leonardo UK a $33-million contract to supply its BriteCloud 218 Active Expendable Decoys (AEDs) for the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.
This is the first BriteCloud 218 contract for the F-35 after being approved for the radar decoy in July.
The contract is expected to satisfy the requirements of fiscal year 2025 through fiscal year 2027.
Designated AN/ALQ-260(V) by the US, the decoy is already operational with platforms such as the Eurofighter Typhoon, Tornado, Gripen, F-16, and MQ-9 Reaper.
The Naval Air Systems Command earlier announced that it was negotiating a supply of 1,000 to 2,000 AEDs per year. However, the quantity of the award was not disclosed.
BriteCloud 218 Decoy
The battery-powered self-contained device provides protection against radio frequency-guided missiles and fire control radars.
Launched from standard chaff and flare dispensers, the miniaturized system is designed to spoof surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles.
As an off-board capability, it overcomes the “home-on-jam” vulnerabilities of onboard solutions wherein the jamming itself lures the missile to track down its source, risking the aircraft.
BriteCloud provides both Doppler and range obscuration to defeat chaff discrimination deployed by modern missiles.
“Effectively, BriteCloud creates a false target so convincing that technologies designed to spot decoys are rendered ineffective, allowing a much wider range of threat systems to be defeated,” Leonardo explained.
